Bobby Watson is releasing his latest jazz album, Back Home in Kansas City. The album pays homage to Watson’s hometown as he leads his working rhythm section on the alto saxophone. But, Watson says, “The alto is a singing horn. Great melodies are immortal, like a sculpture or a painting,” Watson insists. “This album is more about the singing quality of my instrument.” The album features a quintet of bassist Curtis Lundy, drummer Victor Jones, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.

Watson opens the album with a contrafact on the classic “Donna Lee” called “Back Home in Kansas [...]

Vocalist Melanie Marod is releasing a collaboration with Chris Wiser called Stars. Marod is comfortable in many styles; she brings her warm-toned vocals into focus with Wiser’s rock and blues tones. The EP has a strong roots-rock meets blues overtone and was recorded at Downtown Recording Studios in NYC and was mixed and mastered by GRAMMY-nominated Tyler McDiarmid (Gregory Porter, Fred Hersch). The band is Chris Wiser (vocals, guitar), Art Hirahara (keyboard, organ), Sam Bevan (bass, guitar), Brian Fishler (drums), Jim Shaneberger (slide guitar), Mitch Marcus (flute, trombone, trumpet, saxophone), Joe Hettinga (engineer, piano), and Max Lockwood [...]

Sammy Hagar is releasing a new studio album called Crazy Times. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame®-inducted, Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, entrepreneur, and New York Times #1 best-selling author is joined by his Billboard chart-topping supergroup, The Circle. The Circle is fellow Hall of Famer and longtime bassist Michael Anthony, Grammy-winning drummer Jason Bonham and Grammy-winning guitarist Vic Johnson. To record the album, the band traveled to Nashville to work with 8-time Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A.

“Slow Drain” is a moody rock tune with The Circle [...]

Tamino is a Belgian-Egyptian singer, songwriter, guitarist, oudist, and Egyptian actor. He came to the guitar as a teenager when he found a rare resonator guitar in the attic of his late grandfather – the Egyptian actor and musician Muharram Fouad, who became known as “The Voice of the Nile.”. Today Tamino plays the guitar and the oud – creating a double bridge to his cultural past, ultimately understanding and articulating his emotional present. Tamino’s sophomore album, Sahar, explores mystery and wonder, romance and devotion, sorrow and hope.

“The Longing” opens with Tamino’s tapestry of guitar and oud [...]

Ian Wardenski is a guitarist, composer, theorist, and educator. Wardenski has built a reputation for his compositions that are developed upon rich harmonic characteristics and an additive approach to melody and rhythm. He is following up his debut album, Collective Thoughts (2019), with his sophomore release, Trust. Trust features the Ian Wardenski Quintet functioning as a chamber group with the freedom, spontaneity, and improvisation of a small jazz combo. Joining Wardenski is Mercedes Beckman – alto saxophone, Jerry Ascione – piano, Amy Shook – bass, Frank Russo – drums, and Tamara Tucker – voice.

“Before Long” begins our journey [...]

Ari Lennox returns and has released a new album titled age/sex/location. Lennox has not released an album for the past three years. Now she brings us a 12-track sophomore release that has her R&B vocals augmented with appearances from Lucky Daye (“Boy Bye”), Summer Walker (“Queen Space”), and Chlöe (“Leak It”), with production from J. Cole, Elite, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, J. White Did It, Cardiak, and Organized Noize. “Transitional space. Very vulnerable codependent and validation seeking part of my life,” she wrote. “I remember the countless times I was kicked out of dating apps because they didn’t think I was really myself; it [...]