A quadruple threat -- musician, vocalist, bandleader and songwriter -- Esperanza Spalding has the freakish talent to be a jazz master, a set of pipes to be huge and the kind of upbeat, life-embracing vibe anyone would want around. This stately, flat-out lovely chamber/jazz album avoids both pretension and timidity, and Spalding is one of the few singers of any era whose wordless scatting is constantly engrossing. A mess of originals are joined by ravishing readings of "Wild Is the Wind" and Tom Jobim's "Inutil Paisagem" (a duet with Gretchen Parlato).
Guitarist Marc Ribot takes such omnivorous delight in so many musical directions that listeners end up getting swept away with him. Ribot has contributed to a number of film scores, including The Departed, The Kids Are Alright and Where the Wild Things Are. On this set, Ribot offers lyrical solo variations of pieces he played for movies and some which he scored at home for his own amusement (the guy just loves playing guitar). This lyrical, meditative set is transfixing and also surprisingly diverse. With some electronic haze and his guitar, Ribot finds endless cinematic avenues to explore.
You want Old World ability? Charlie Hunter's 99-year-old grandfather selected a batch of his favorite old tunes and the guitarist cut all 11 of them solo, on a seven-string guitar, in one day. Live in the studio, no edits, no overdubs. Instead of nostalgia, Hunter keeps his funk edge, playing the melodies of cherished numbers such as "Danny Boy" and "Ain't We Got Fun" even as he completely transforms the way they feel and function. Anyone wanting to study how one man can play lead, rhythm and bass simultaneously should listen to "Cielito Lindo."
This 2010 set mixes concert recordings and studio cuts. It illustrates what a rich and varied career Cassandra Wilson has enjoyed, from the post-bop reading of "Lover Come Back To Me" to the upscale jazz-funk of "St. James Infirmary" (where she stays deliciously behind the beat), the delta-blues of "Saddle Up My Pony" and the cozy, star-reaching cover of "Blackbird." "If It's Magic" and the lush chamber piece "Watch The Sunrise" -- a duet with John Legend -- shows off more of Wilson's pleasing artistic puzzle.
Gregory Porter joins such modern jazz vocalists as Jose James and Esperanza Spalding in the way that he is informed equally by the Golden Age jazz-pop singers (Nat Cole, Joe Williams) along with protest era soul stars and post-bop musicians. Porter handles the standards "Skylark" and "But Beautiful" with true skill, phrasing them in ways that bend the melodies without bruising their near-perfect structures. Elsewhere, he writes his own numbers, going in a striking number of directions, from the quiet purpose of "Illusion" to the thrilling energy and heated confusion of "1960 What?" A mesmerizing debut from an artist who should be on the vocal jazz scene for decades to come.
This project -- bringing Malian and Cuban musicians together to record -- was meant to happen back in 1996, but visa problems stalled it. Producer Nick Gold ended up filling the studio time with some old Cuban musicians who became the Buena Vista Social Club. Thank heavens this project, 14 years later, finally happened, because you can't fake chemistry like this. It helps when the musicians -- including Eliades Ochoa and Toumani Diabate -- are top-class. Four days of live recordings with just any group of musicians wouldn't have resulted in such rich, subtle, vibrant music.
Smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum frees up his sound by paying tribute to the tragically short-lived soul singer Donny Hathaway. Whalum goes for an organic, live-in-the-studio sound that shows how much 1970s soul artists such as Hathaway, Gaye and Flack were as well versed in jazz as pop. Hathaway's daughter, Lalah, offers guest vocals on a shimmering "You Had to Know," while Musiq Soulchild, Jeff Golub and Robert Randolph (on the liberating "Tryin' Times") also drop by. If you doubt this stands up as one of Whalum's best, just look at how relaxed he looks on the album cover.
Decades past his time as a arty English pop star with the synth group Japan, David Sylvian is now an intense singer-songwriter who manages to combine mainstream appeal with the avant garde (think of late '70s Bowie or Scott Walker with snatches of floating jazz solos). This set compiles Sylvian's recent recordings with a number of intriguing jazz/electronic/classical/indie artists. Some, such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, brother Steve Jansen and Burnt Friedman, are old friends and frequent collaborators. Elsewhere, Sylvian continues to go outside his comfort zone by working with the likes of Joan Wasser (aka Joan as Police Woman) and Jan Bang. Highlights include the excoriating title track and the even more biting "Money for All," and the wounded "World Citizen" and "Wonderful World." To hear him in a good mood, go to the effervescent "The Day the Earth Stole Heaven."
Ryuichi Sakamoto is renowned as a lyrical film composer, experimental noisemaker, Asian music master, bossa nova tourist and classical pianist. Not a bad career for a man who started out as one of the fathers of synth pop. On this two-disc set, Sakamoto shows off his skill as both a composer (his stately work in this regard has won him numerous awards, including an Oscar) and an innovative musician. He plays famous themes to The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Sheltering Sky with two connected pianos at once. Then the Japanese master shifts gears on the second disc, putting together ravishingly melancholy sketches (such as "In the Red") that meld samples of actual melting glaciers, snatches of news dialog, and effects from his treated piano.
Instead of plunking you down into the classic late-1950s/early '60s hard-bop sound the label is most associated with, this box set gives you chronological highlights from seven decades of Blue Note's storied history. This starts off with legends like Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan before moving on to label staples like Art Blakey, Horace Silver and Jimmy Smith. Plenty of room is given over to the current Blue Note roster (including today's pop/rock stars), making this a fine introduction to both the label and the entire era of post-swing modern jazz.
