Oh, man, does Ed Partyka know the big band tradition backwards and forwards. He’d just about have to, as a protégé of large ensemble virtuoso Bob Brookmeyer (whose 1981 album Composer–Arranger gives Partyka’s record its title). Indeed, the epic opener “Do As I Say … (Not As I Do),” a Partyka original, wears the Brookmeyer influence — and perhaps that of another Brookmeyer protégé, Darcy James Argue — proudly on its sleeve.

A lesser craftsman would make that his manifesto and the mold for the entire album’s worth of material. But Partyka, born and raised in Chicago but now resident in Graz, Austria, has too much range, and too many high-caliber collaborators (17 great players from across Europe), to let it go at that. He immediately offsets “Do As I Say” with an enchanting, breezy Latin orchestration of Charlie Parker’s “Klactoveedsedstene” that shows how deeply he knows his stuff. At times it sounds just a Freddie Green guitar line away from the Count Basie New Testament Band (Partyka has no guitarist), at times like the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (with a Simon Harrer trombone solo that might itself be a homage to Brookmeyer’s seat in that ensemble).

Neither is Partyka a slavish disciple, even on a tribute album. His arrangement of “Dienda,” despite its being a Kenny Kirkland tune, simply sounds like Ed Partyka, especially in his use of brass — both in solos (there’s a heavenly French horn one, courtesy of Swiss player Linus Bernoulli) and in backgrounds (with flugelhorn and trombone spinning a beguiling contrapuntal web behind Florian Trübsbach’s alto solo). His closing original showpiece “G.G.’s Last Dance” uses those same brass chops to construct a careful slow-burn, climaxing in another Harrer trombone solo before creeping, with almost unbearably tension, to a resolve. More, please.

Montreal native Steve Rosenbloom has been writing music since the mid-1980s and playing sax with local jazz groups since the early 1990s. San Francisco 1948 gives this licensed psychoanalyst and psychologist — who has penned pieces recorded by prominent Canadian jazz musicians — an outlet to feature his own compositions that blend classic and contemporary big band sensibilities in a nine-track program executed by a 17-piece orchestra of top-tier Montreal players. Five of Rosenbloom’s songs here were arranged by trombonist and bandmember Chris Smith and were originally performed by the McGill University Jazz Band. Four other selections, including the title track, are more recent works arranged for this album by tenor saxophonist Michael Johancsik.

Rosenbloom is a self-described fan of film noir, and the album’s title comes from his memory of a movie starring Dick Powell set in the Bay Area in the late 1940s. In addition to the title track, “Mosely” and “Asher’s Tune” adhere to the haunting, bluesy, balladic soundtrack style of that historic genre. Other tracks reflect various other styles within the jazz idiom. “Samba For Esther,” “Fiesta For Paquito” and “Mexican Holiday” are all uptempo Latin numbers the inject infectious excitement into the program. “Light And Easy” pays homage to the chill side of Count Basie, and “In A Boppish Sort of Way” swings with bebop urgency and angularity. The stirring “A Call From The Orient” suggests the Asian influence sometimes heard in the intriguing works of large-ensemble jazz visionaries like Duke Ellington.

Rosenbloom’s band of Montreal aces is killer. The finely textured saxophone section includes Jules Payette on lead alto and flute, Allison Burik on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Rosenbloom himself on alto (as featured soloist on “Asher’s Song”) tenor saxophonists Johancsik and Alex Francoeur (who also double on clarinet) and baritone saxophonist/clarinetist Benjamin Deschamps. The band’s powerful trumpet section includes Lex French, Andy King, Benjamin Cordeau and Cameron Milligan, and the trombone section of Mathieu Van Vilet, Thomas Morelli-Bernard, Taylor Donaldson and Smith contributes tonal warmth and brassy punch. The versatile, highly respsonsive rhythm section consists of pianist Eric Harding, bassist Mike De Masi and drummer Jim Doxas. Strong solos keep bandmembers and listeners alike engaged across the entire program.

San Francisco 1948 is a testament to Rosenbloom’s commitment to sustaining and evolving the big band tradition while infusing it with contemporary freshness and thoughtful nuance. It embodies the grandeur, complexity and emotional depth that define the genre, with something for seasoned jazz aficionados and new audiences alike.

There’s nothing in jazz like a good, old-fashioned cutting contest. Instead of fashion’s “Who wore it better?” we get jazz’s “Who played it better?” But with alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and tenor player Eric Alexander, this recording from Smoke Sessions Records truly is a split decision. These are two of the finest saxophonists on the jazz scene tearing it up in a fun, friendly format that still leaves plenty of room for “Don’t try this at home” antics. The duo — backed beautifully on this live set by pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist John Webber and drummer Lewis Nash — warms up with some gentle sparring on Steve Turre’s “Pharoah’s Dance,” a tribute to the late, great Pharoah Sanders. They slide into a silky groove on Horace Silver’s “Strollin’.” And then the fireworks begin. They take Hank Mobley’s “Pec a Sec” at breakneck speed. Alexander takes the first swing and it’s a rocket launch demonstrating his absolute mastery of the tenor and a helluva lot of badass bravado. But Herring proves to be up to the challenge and more. Rapid-fire, hitting the entirety of the horn, Herring is masterful. But what’s even better is the two rifling through the head in unison. They are so at ease with each other, instinctively knowing just the right moves to make, which is logical since their first “contest” was on 2005’s The Battle: Live At Smoke on HighNote, with a second 2012 release called Friendly Fire coming out on that same label. And they take the show on the road, because as fun as it is on record, live is where it’s at for this act. In fact, they were touring Japan at the time of an interview for DownBeat. As Alexander told writer Ted Panken, they’ve done a version of this tour at least seven times since the 2012 London Olympics. So, while there’s a competitive aspect to the concept, there’s also a lot of love, as evidenced in a beautiful version of the old chestnut “My Romance” and the bluesy groove of Hank Mobley’s “Soft Impressions.” To finish, they work it out on Nat Adderley’s “Mo’s Theme” and bring down the house. This is one of those “Wish you were there” live recordings that oozes with the juices of a rollicking jazz club showdown. I, for one, am so glad they documented the proceedings. Fantastic!

I didn’t have a beautiful, evocative jazz take on Neil Diamond’s “Play Me” on my bingo card. Too bad for my bingo card. What singer Lauren Scales does with pianist Chris Grasso’s arrangement is the kind of transcendence that mere craftsmanship can’t convey. Vulnerability and undiluted expression mix with rhythmic nuance and attention to detail (with exquisite tenor sax fills by Mike Flanagan, the album’s third co-leader) in a moment of jazz singing as high art.

If the rest of Many Rivers isn’t quite so sublime as “Play Me,” it still packs in plenty of delights. The Diamond song’s tenderness gives way to a wallop on Thelonious Monk’s “I Mean You,” with Scales belting Jon Hendricks’ lyric (titled “You Know Who”) with glee and trombonist Steve Davis stopping in for a choice solo. Power and delicacy find parity on Frank Loesser’s “Never Will I Marry,” Scales’ joyful personality-stuffed vocal balanced by swinging Grasso and Flanagan solos and gorgeous accompaniment by Grasso, bassist Luques Curtis and dual drummers Richie Barshay and Charles Haynes.

But this isn’t simply a vocalist’s album, and the instrumentalists get their own space for zesty workouts. The big one is “Star Eyes,” Flanagan combining both of Charlie Parker’s arrangements against a deliriously, almost grimly percussive rhythm section and driving solos by Grasso and Curtis. Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross” also gets solo juice (though Scales sings the final chorus) in a soulful rendition mindful of David “Fathead” Newman’s “Hard Times.” There’s something here for everybody.

British hip-hop-meets-jazz pioneer Geoff Wilkinson has released the first new music from Us3 in more than a decade — a highly personal, socially charged, cinematic hybrid of digitally generated trap beats and live musicianship. The 10th album from the outfit that scored a major hit in 1993 with “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” Soundtrack fascinates with threads of mysteriously catchy melody, grooves with a swing all its own and flows like a wind-instrument-blown tapestry of complex colors, textures and dynamics straight out of the vaunted chamber of Gil Evans’ large ensemble arrangements for Miles Davis and Henri Mancini’s vast oeuvre of spellbinding movie scores. With the goal of crafting a new set of all-instrumental tunes that convey maximum emotional intensity, Wilkinson enlisted keyboardist and long-term Us3 collaborator Mike Gorman to develop the horn parts — a lush 18-piece blend of flutes, clarinets, saxophones, Turkish zurna, saxophones, trumpets (open and muted), flugelhorns, French horn, trombones and tuba — in a manner that would embellish and develop the themes of each track. The bittersweet “Long Ride Home” is a prime example of how the album’s stylistic union works. Inspired by Wilkinson’s train journeys back to his hometown, the track captures both nostalgia and melancholy as it drifts between warmth and unease. “Resist The Rat Race,” a critique of corporate monotony and societal conformity, pulses with urgency and restlessness rooted in Wilkinson’s early experience as a disillusioned worker-bee in the city center of Leeds, England. The paranoid, shadowy “Footsteps In The Dark” conjures a foreboding, film noir-ish mood that will feel all too familiar to anyone who’s braved a late-night walk in the big city. Leadoff track “What Have We Done” challenges notions of human progress with hesitant, glitchy trap beats tucked beneath an orchestral top-line bearing a lovely melody (that brings to mind the beauty of Earth’s natural environment) and dark-contrast harmony (which reminds us of the messy aftermath of industrial ambition). With fresh ideas and a recharged creative vision, Wilkinson shows what Us3’s stated mission of fusing jazz and hip-hop can mean today, more than 30 years after the group’s initial ventures in sampling the Blue Note back catalog.

To watch the video for “Resist The Rat Race,” CLICK HERE.

To watch the video for “Footsteps In The Dark,” CLICK HERE.

This is something a critic usually saves for the end of a review, but let’s say right now, I love this freakin’ album. With Big Money, Jon Batiste hits the ears with a perfect little package of pure joy, fantastic wordplay, amazing musicianship and subtle soul all bundled in a stripped-down set of nine tunes that groove, bop and flow with perfection. If you’re looking for the jazz voice of Batiste, it’s in there somewhere, but this recording features the soul, blues and New Orleans grit of Batiste’s musical palette. The album delivers with a big, booty-shaking beat on tunes like “Big Money” — featuring the Womack Sisters (Sam Cooke’s granddaughters) and Nick Waterhouse killing it on guitar — and “Pinnacle.” Then, there’s the infectious pop of the opening tune, “Lean On My Love,” a beautiful duet with vocalist Andra Day. It features Batiste as an artist full of open-hearted love, as he shows on several tunes on the set, like the beautiful “Do It All Over Again.” As for that New Orleans grit, try “Petrichor,” an ode to the planet, where Batiste preaches about how “They’re burning the planet down/ No more second lining in the street,” but does it with Southern style that makes it go down easy and stick. But let’s get back to that big heart. There are two tunes on this recording that really let you inside. First, “Maybe,” with just Batiste and a piano, musing about what it all means with the only answer being the word “maybe” trailing off: “Maybe I’m just wasting my time/ Or maybe this is part of some strange design/ Maybe.” And then, there’s the song that brought a tear to this grizzled old writer’s eye. “Lonely Avenue” was written by New Orleans’ own Doc Pomus and recorded by Ray Charles back in 1958. Batiste reprises this chestnut in duet with the 81-year-old songwriting legend Randy Newman. It’s just Batiste and Newman squeezing this tune out at a gut-wrenchingly slow tempo. It’s late-night, after-hours heartbreak at its best. It’s important to note that this entire album was recorded in a week, with many tunes laid down in one take. “Lonely Avenue” was recorded on a handheld recorder at Newman’s piano. The process may be low key, but the results are high art. In addition to the music, also check out the videos for “Big Money,” “Lonely Avenue” and “Lean On My Love.” They’re terrific, too, with “Lean On My Love” shot at Victory Bible Church in Altadena, California, where the wildfires took down so much of that community.