Bennett had a wealth of material to draw upon, and he had a direct association with much of it.

“Charlie Christian with the Benny Goodman Sextet on record, that was it!” said Freeman of his early influences.

“I made the decision pretty early on that jazz music was going to be a huge part of my identity when I was growing up in California. But New York City made a man out of me,” Meagher says.

Parks has battled and triumphantly come back from bouts of manic behavior that left him “getting pretty abstract,” he said, to the point that he had to cancel a tour and seek help.

Pascal and Remy Le Boeuf have been described as “impressive musically and, most importantly, impressive as people,” by Tim Jackson of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

“I wanted it to be a continuous celebration of life,” Rodriguez says of his new album, Coral Way.

Gabriela Martina and her longstanding band, from left, Vancil Cooper, Martina, Ben Rosenblum, Kyle Miles, Maxim Lubarsky and Jussi Reijonen.

“Blue Note music has been such an integral part of my musical and life experience for so long,” says Redman. “It’s surreal to be a part of this lineage.”

“Charlie Christian with the Benny Goodman Sextet on record, that was it!” said Freeman of his early influences.

“One of my hopes is that we find new and different versions of and possibilities for community,” Pinderhughes says of The Healing Project.