That 20-year-old pianist Matthew Whitaker is alive is a bit of a miracle. He was born prematurely and blind, given little chance of surviving with doctors saying that, even if he did, he probably would not be able to crawl, walk or speak. His story has been well-documented by shows like 60 Minutes. Whitaker can speak, and he speaks well. He can walk, and walk well. But what this prodigy can do better than anything else, and arguably anyone else, is play piano, organ and keyboards. Hear for yourself on Connections (Reliance Music Alliance), his third album, this one produced by bassist Derrick Hodge. It is astounding. We’ve been listening to Whitaker take our breath away with all of the promise he showed on the first two albums. This one takes him a full leap forward. The fleetness of finger, the touch and taste, the grit and grime when he needs it, the lightness and airiness when it’s called upon — Whitaker has it all. Beyond his playing chops, his compositions have taken a leap forward, also. In part, he credits Hodge for pushing him to be more adventurous and it shows on tunes like the uplifting opener “Journey Uptown”; the organ trio jam “A New Day,” where he and guitarist Marcos Robinson fly through unison lines; the pensive title track; and the sweet, humbling “Stop Fighting.” Whitaker also delivers some terrific takes on jazz classics. He and Jon Batiste go at it like kids in a sandbox on Thelonious Monk’s “Bye-Ya.” It’s a treat trying to figure out which musician is playing which part. The chuckle at the end of the song says it all: two amazing musicians simply having a good time with one of the greatest piano tunes in jazz. The same can be said for Whitaker and violinist Regina Carter swinging through Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Whitaker also does a crazy take on Chick Corea’s “Spain,” playing Hammond B-3 on the opening strains, then switching over to keyboards when the band kicks in. Then there’s a serious dance-a-thon awaiting with his Latin jazz take on Duke Pearson’s “Jeanine.” There’s plenty more, with 16 tracks in all, including “His Eye Is On The Sparrow,” a beautifully rendered spiritual where Whitiker shows deep roots. With bits of spoken word between songs to tell his story, Matthew Whitaker is an inspiration as a person and as an amazing young artist. It will be fascinating to see what the future brings.

Electric blues trio GA-20 – guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist, vocalist Pat Faherty and drummer Tim Carman — draw from a range of influences, but felt one in particular needed a big boost. “Not enough people know just how cool Hound Dog Taylor was,” Stubbs said.

Thus this tribute to him: Try It … You Might Like It.

Six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor always knew how he wanted to be remembered, declaring, “When I die they’ll say, ‘He couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!’” His first album, released in 1971, was also the first album on Alligator Records, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator for the specific purpose of recording and releasing it. Robert Christgau once referred to Taylor and his sidemen as “the Ramones of the blues.”

GA-20 formed far later, in 2018, inspired by late-1950s/early 1960s blues, r&b and rock ’n’ roll. They pointedly use vintage gear, including the Gibson GA-20 amplifier.

You can hear all this on Try It … You Might Like It. And yet the album doesn’t sound stuck in the past. Clocking in at just under 39 minutes, this is 10 tracks of hard-driving blues-rock that feels more like early White Stripes at its loosest than something you’d hear at a daytime blues fest.

For this release, Alligator Records collaborated with Colemine Records, an expertly niche label out of Loveland, Ohio, that puts out funk, soul and beyond. Colemine owner Terry Cole spoke to DownBeat about what this partnership accomplished, explaining that while he’s not a fan of contemporary blues, and more into traditional blues, he has a lot of respect for what Iglauer has accomplished with Alligator.

“We felt this was a good opportunity to push this traditional vibe and agenda to people who are into the contemporary blues scene that Alligator has its finger on the pulse of, and put what we think is cool blues in front of those folks, while simultaneously making people on our side of things aware of Hound Dog Taylor and the history of Alligator Records,” Cole said. “The overall, overarching goal of the group is to make traditional blues cool and to make original music in 2021 that is in that vein, but also relevant and fresh.”

It’s all of that. And, given that it’s trying to reach two somewhat disconnected audiences, the title is perfect.

Andrew Cyrille continues to produce compelling music with the release of a new quartet outing that further cements his legacy as a premier force in jazz improvisation over a span of some six decades. Now 81, the veteran drummer made a brilliant move in calling upon pianist/synth player David Virelles to assume the role previously occupied by his longtime friend and collaborator Richard Teitelbaum (1939–2020). The result is an ambitious follow-up to Cyrille’s 2016 quartet album The Declaration Of Musical Independence (ECM). Guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Ben Street are back onboard and all-in for this meditative and highly satisfying session from August 2019. The News is named after a conceptual piece that Cyrille originally recorded in the late 1970s with newspapers spread out over his snare and toms, which he played using brushes. Originally a solo performance, it reappears here with Virelles, Frisell and Street conjuring a playful environment of crinkly textures and atmospheric wobble as Cyrille gleefully scratches, taps and slaps his way through the news of the day. Frisell’s composition “Mountain” opens the album, setting the tone and pace of what’s to come. You immediately feel the group’s warm, wide-open, all-enveloping instrumental sound, and the music comes across as deliberate and free, never rushed, as Cyrille gently prods and pulls the time and dynamics. Other highlights include Virelles’ watchful piece “Incienso,” which intrigues with its ambiguous harmony and hypnotizes with a slow, steady drum pulse; “Leaving East Of Java,” a composition by avant-garde pianist Adegoke Steve Colson that the quartet takes on a long, intense ride peppered with Virelles’ signature piano runs and sudden bursts of energy; and Cyrille’s poetic “With You In Mind,” a reverent ode to a loved one that glows with mellow harmony and balladic atmospherics after a heartfelt spoken introduction by the bandleader.

You’ve got to love it when a saxophonist’s record starts with a freaking awesome drum solo. But that’s exactly how Xhosa Cole kicks off K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us, his debut on Stoney Lane Records. The 24-year-old tenor saxophonist/composer is a British sensation and proves that he’s here for blood with this release.

The drum solo kicks off “Zoltan,” an awesome Larry Young tune first introduced on Unity, a 1965 Blue Note release. From the intro to the amazing drumline march beat, delivered with verve by Jim Bashford, Cole and company match the “tenor” and intensity of the original, then kick it into a modern blast. These guys make this music new again.

For those not yet hip to Cole, he’s got credentials, winning the BBC 2018 Young Musician award as well as Jazz FM’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year award for 2020. He can play. I love his fire on this record, blissfully taking on seven jazz classics … and blowing them up. It’s not that he changes them. It’s that he gives them the fire that only a young, hungry artist can deliver.

Beyond “Zoltan,” Cole and his quartet take on such classics as Ornette Coleman’s “Blues Connotation.” Jay Phelps blasts his intentions on trumpet as Cole dances and wails underneath before Phelps and the rhythm section of Bashford and James Owtson drive this tune crazy.

Cole doesn’t lay out on these tunes, but he does let others do their thing, then he does his own with rips, raves, twirls and all-out jams. He’s got technique, talent, artistry and a burning desire that shows throughout the set.

That said, jazz artists make a name on uptempo tunes but often enter the hearts of jazz fans on ballads. Cole’s got it covered. His version of the Rogers & Heart classic “I’ll Take Manhattan,” named simply “Manhattan” on this recording, slays the heart. It exudes all the love of an Ella Fitzgerald turn, but all dressed up for 2021.

For the rest of the set, Cole rips up Thelonious Monk’s “Played Twice,” John Coltrane’s “On A Misty Night,” which is sweet, and Bobby Haggart’s “What’s New,” which is downright sultry.

The set ends with Lee Morgan’s “Untitled Boogaloo,” which alone is worth the price of admission. It’s a true James Brown-meets-bebop moment with a guest drop-in from Soweto Kinch.

At 24, Cole has plenty of room to grow and, as demonstrated on K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us, a firm foundation to launch from.

This may not be the most minimalist jazz can get, but it’s coming close. Tributaries features two side-long tracks that were created from tone-rows, or “systems,” by guitarist and composer Jack Cooper and then used as templates to improvise from. Together, Cooper and Jeff Tobias, a saxophonist and member of the group Sunwatchers, then devised methods and approaches for Tobias’ interpretation, allowing for a push-and-pull between melodic unison.

Cooper may be more well known outside of the improvisational jazz scene as the songwriter behind such bands as Ultimate Painting and Modern Nature. Tobias has been a member of Cooper’s Modern Nature since its formation in 2019. Their prior experience together is in evident here; this is complicated material that twists and turns with its own internal logic. The two flow through it effortlessly.

The result feels conversational, neither overly composed nor overly improvisational. The systems within feel as if they could go on forever in an infinite loop. Tributaries uses space and pacing to good effect throughout. Tobias plays the perfect foil to Cooper’s guitar playing, highlighting the compositions without overpowering Cooper’s guitar. Cooper describes the aim as “melodic collectivism” and Tributaries gets there.