Composition plays a priority role in Ken Partyka’s New Standard jazz groups. The Chicago-based saxophonist crafts magnificent charts for large and small ensembles, as on the New Standard Jazz Orchestra’s 2016 album Waltz About Nothing (OA2) and the New Standard Quintet’s 2011 debut, The Many Faces (CD Baby/New Standard Music). And he consistently includes contributions of original material penned by band members in his studio recordings and live sets. That’s part of what gives the New Standard Quintet (like its counterpart the New Standard Jazz Orchestra, a contemporary “writing” big band formed in 2013 and co-led with trombonist-composer Andy Baker) such a strong collective voice. So it comes as no surprise that the quintet’s newly released Another Time, Another Place, a seven-track program consisting entirely of originals by Partyka, pianist-keyboardist Tom Vaitsas and guitarist Pat Fleming, gets high marks for its compositional ambition, delightful melodic content and sheer originality. But that’s only half of what gives Another Time, Another Place its wide-ranging appeal. Let’s not forget the extreme sensitivity to musical detail and the impassioned, advanced soloing at work as the musicians mindfully weave in and out of a multitude of genres on the jazz-and-blues spectrum. The sheer confidence revealed in their extended blowing demonstrates just how intimate these guys are with their own material, arrangements they have shaped together over years of gigging as a working group. It’s clear throughout Another Time, Another Place that all five of these Chicago A-listers — bassist Curt Bley and drummer Todd Howell among them — are deeply invested in, and have thoroughly digested, this dynamic, highly original repertoire. Fleming’s “Go Down Gamblin’” opens the album with some feel-good swing in 5, though that doesn’t stop Partyka from bopping all over the place at the peak of his extended soprano solo, nor Vaitsas from invoking Adderley-era Joe Zawinul on Fender Rhodes, nor Fleming from indulging his proclivity for prog-rock tones and outside constructions. Indeed, Another Time, Another Place deals in odd time signatures and processed sounds common to more contemporary forms, but approaches the music’s more modern aspects with an easygoing, old-school attitude. The Partyka-Vaitsas tune “The Guy In The Corner” is a second-line driven celebration of funkiness and inclusion fueled by an infectious groove and distinguished by Partyka’s contemporary-soul alto wailing. A major highlight of this November 2018 session is the title track, whose entrancing ancestral drones enchant the listener with dreams of other places and other times, a fitting context for Partyka’s resonant tenor to call out in what feels like communication with ancient communal voices. Guest artist Kalyan Pathak enlivens three tracks with his signature brand of percussion magic, most notably his expressive tabla contributions to the title track. He turns to his arsenal of congas, bongos and tambourine to summon a syncopated Mardis Gras spirit on “The Guy In The Corner” and employs cajon to help cement the steady, tango-like pulse of “Belle Of The Ball.”

In honor of Black History Month, Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few today dropped its rendition of “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” and it’s beautiful. The Chosen Few recorded the tune at the end of its session that resulted in Cosmic Transitions (Division 81), a recording that has garnered plenty of praise for the 23-year-old woodwind player and multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, including a 5-star review in the June 2021 issue of DownBeat. This is a plaintive, grooving rendition offers a 13-minute treatise on a composition that means so much to Black history and is often referred to as the Black national anthem. Collier and his saxophone are one in an emotionally charged performance channeling lessons he gleaned as a devotee of John Coltrane and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). He’s expertly backed by Michael Shekwoaga Ode on drums, Jeremiah Hunt on upright bass and Mike King on piano. The single also includes a fantastic B-side, titled “Guidance (Yoruba Soul Mix).” Both tunes have one foot in exploration and both feet steeped deep in the groove. Collier and company deserve a serious listen; you can do so HERE. Better yet, support these young mavericks and buy the single. It’s worth the investment.

Nina Simone’s music and message continue to resonate with new audiences, particularly with her scene-stealing appearance in Questlove’s 1969 festival documentary Summer of Soul currently streaming on Hulu and playing in select theaters, and Verve underlines that point with this project. Over two discs, this compilation first gathers 19 of Simone’s most indelible songs such as “Mississippi Goddam,” “Strange Fruit,” “I Loves You Porgy,” “I Put A Spell On You” and Simone’s timeless version of “Feeling Good.” Then, top DJs and producers Joel Corry, Riton, Sofi Tukker, Rudimental, Hot Chip, Floorplan and Honne update seven of Simone’s songs for the dance floor and beyond.

The 19 established tracks are exemplary, of course, but the headline here is Verve updating Simone for a modern audience.

Her audibly weary embrace of joy on the title track is taken to new heights by Corry’s deft addition of synths and thudding drums. Mark Ronson and Dua Lipa collaborator Riton fittingly infuse “See Line Woman” with an island breeze of textures. Sofi Tukker, who’s worked with Lady Gaga, among others, expertly chops up Simone’s piano and vocals, gleefully reveling in her ability to play with the sounds on hand here. English electronic music duo HONNE make Simone groove with a bit of a Radiohead-esque lilt on “My Baby Just Cares For Me.” And synth-pop band Hot Chip, which boasts an impressive resume, having worked with Amy Winehouse, Florence and the Machine and Sia, turns “Be My Husband” into an appropriately slow burner of a finish. One wonders who could possibly say no to the question at hand.

Remix albums are a dicey proposition, especially with an artist as venerated as Simone in play. But Feeling Good: Her Greatest Hits & Remixes works because it provides a healthy dose of what made her great in her own time and then cherrypicks how and when to re-contextualize her. It achieves its ambitious goal: to bring Simone to audiences young and old with fresh ears.

Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Hero Trio is a serious attempt at a jazz group that doesn’t take itself too seriously. From the group’s beginning with the 2020 launch of Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio (Whirlwind), the alto saxophonist and his superhero companions Rudy Royston Jr. (drums) and François Moutin (bass) have been carving up songs faster than a speeding bullet and sending them back as launchpads of improvisation. Now the Hero Trio returns with an EP that clocks in at 22 minutes and 39 seconds of pure joy. For those old enough, remember waking up, playing an album side, then heading out for the day? It’s like that. Just four great tunes that will make you laugh, think and slap a smile on your face. For Mahanthappa, it seems that he selected three songs that reminded him of his youth, and one more that reminded him of his youths. For the front of that statement, the trio does a serious explosion on “Missouri Uncompromised,” a Pat Metheny tune from the guitarist’s 1976 debut Bright Size Life (ECM). The original was also from a trio with Metheny, bassist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Bob Moses. Here, Mahanthappa and his alto saxophone cut deep on a tune written to skewer the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a law that admitted Missouri as a slave state while banning slavery from Maine and the remaining land from the Louisiana Purchase. This is the deepest, and perhaps most satisfying, cut from the session. Mahanthappa’s alto pierces in a way that the warm tone of Metheny’s guitar could not. Moutin and Royston serve as perfect foils, handling the pressure of measuring up to the original with confidence and power. Beyond that, Mahanthappa seeks to bolster the status of flugelhornist Chuck Mangione with a version of “Give It All You’ve Got” as a really lovely ballad, reminding listeners of Mangione’s bona fides as composer and member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers before he became a pop-jazz star in the ’70s. The trio then speeds ahead to the late ’80s for a chuckle-inducing turn on George Michael’s mega-hit “Faith.” There has certainly never been this kind of ambitious, rambunctious blitz on the tune. The trio slashes into improvisation for the first 90 seconds before hitting the melody for a spell, then launching back into a terrific give-and-take preceding the outro. Mahanthappa notes in the press materials that the second pass through the melody is superimposed on the chord changes of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” Finally, there’s the title tune. It seems that the saxophonist has been spending a lot of extra time at home with his two young children during the pandemic. Animal Crossing is the name of a popular video game series for youngsters. The Hero Trio turns its theme song, miraculously, into a jazz playground. It’s a cool, grooving tune showing off the individual talents of all three musicians as well as their fierce interconnectedness. While “Missouri Uncompromised” is all about seriousness, don’t think for a minute that the EP’s other three tunes are tongue-in-cheek. The trio does serious work here while having a good time. It’s proof that anything can be turned into jazz, and if the artists are special, the results can be downright heroic.