April 2020

Features

• Delfeayo Marsalis

  Merchant of Joy

  By Ted Panken

  Marsalis’ New Orleans-based Uptown Jazz Orchestra’s recent release, Jazz Party, and its 2016 predecessor, Make American Great Again, rank among the strongest big–band discs of the past 10 years.

• Dave Liebman

  ‘Conscious of Every Breath’

  By Bill Milkowski

  Liebman’s Earth caps a series of albums inspired by natural elements.

• Lakecia Benjamin

  Pursuing a Spiritual Quest

  By Suzanne Lorge

  Pursuance is Benjamin’s most ambitious project so far, not only for its eye-popping lineup, but for the magnitude of its subject matter: the compositions of Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane.

Blindfold Test

Paolo Fresu was tested on the following tracks for the “Blindfold Test”:

• Enrico Rava: “Overboard” from TATI (ECM)
• Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: “The Beautiful American” from The Great Summit: The Master Takes (Roulette Jazz/Blue Note)
• Terence Blanchard Featuring The E Collective: “Compared To What” from Breathless (Blue Note)
• Chet Baker: “Alone Together” from Chet—Riverside Jazz Classics (Riverside/Fantasy)
• Miles Davis: “Maze” from Rubberband (Warner Bros./Rhino)
• Nat Adderley: “Work Song” from Work Song: Keepnews Collection (Riverside/Concord Label Group)

Also in this Issue