To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.

“I eventually want to keep experimenting with being able to add my own granito de arena, my little thing that I can add to it,” says Lucía about her brand of jazz with a Mexican flavor.

“Billy was very friendly to me when I was young. One of my greatest inspirations,” said drummer Bill Goodwin about fellow drummer Billy Higgins.

Harry Schnipper, owner of Blues Alley, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary on July 21.

“I’ve had no shortage of encounters and new relationships with people on the West Coast that have been super inspiring and amazing,” says Lehman of his move to Los Angeles.

A former member of Chuck Mangione’s working band, Coleman Mellett died in a plane crash. Sixteen years later, his debut album is finally being released.

“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”

“I really like free-jazz, and my foundation is ’50s and ’60s jazz,” says Nanami Haruta. “So I tried to combine all of that music in one album.”

“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.

“As much as I may want to get away from the legacy of The Meters, it’s such a fundamental part of my musical upbringing that I’ll always have that,” says George Porter Jr.