Mervin Toussaint, a jazz saxophonist, and educator based in Philadelphia, is forging an eclectic and evolving musical vocabulary. Toussaint now unveils his debut full-length album, entitled Lakay. In Haitian Kreyol, “Lakay” signifies “home,” and this album embodies a voyage of exploration into profound connections with faith, community, ancestry, and kin from past, present, and future generations. By embracing his heritage’s cultural richness and jazz’s expressive potential, Toussaint has crafted a unique and impactful musical statement with Lakay. These [...]

Alex Sipiagin is a jazz trumpeter and composer who built an impressive thirteen-album catalog as a leader. His thirteenth album is titled Mel’s Vision and is being released on the Criss Cross label. The ensemble is Sipiagin on trumpet, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist David Kikoski, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Johnathan Blake. The set has three originals, a Ukrainian folk melody, and seven other songs from the jazz catalog.

The title track, “Mel’s Vision,” opens the project with the ensemble creating a beautiful modern jazz setting. Kikoski’s shifting chords set the tone in the intro before the two horns enter with the melody. [...]

Paul “Hollywood” Litteral has been an in-demand trumpeter for decades, appearing on over 150 albums. Litteral founded the Uptown Horns with saxophonist Arno Hecht in 1978, and he has since worked with many rock and soul groups (including J. Geils, the Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, Tom Waits, Joe Cocker, James Brown, Pat Benatar, and Ray Charles). In addition, Litteral’s work as a trumpeter, arranger-composer, and musical director resulted in him gaining the nickname “Hollywood Paul.” He currently performs with Angela O’Neill and the Outrageous8, and many others. Litteral is releasing his debut album as a leader titled Legacy, on which [...]

Bassist Rodney Whitaker has assembled a refined quintet to present the music of composer Gregg Hill. The ensemble is Terell Stafford on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tim Warfield on tenor and soprano saxophones, Bruce Barth on piano, and Dana Hall on drums. Vocalist Rockelle Fortin also appears in four songs. Hill is a composer that has published over 145 original jazz compositions across various albums. Oasis: The Music of Gregg Hill presents ten compositions by Hill and one by Whitaker.

“Puppets” is a beautiful waltz-time composition that shows the power of Hill’s harmonic and melody relationships as well as [...]