Wayne Escoffery on tenor and soprano sax, Joe Locke on vibes, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. CD

Carolyn Leonhart on vocals – accompanied by Wayne Escoffery on saxophone, Toru Dodo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and Jason Brown and Carl Allen on drums. CD

One of the hippest projects we've heard from drummer Ben Riley in awhile – a big band project devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk, and one that gets most of its angular changes from the saxophone section! There's a great post-Monk quality to this one that makes it way more than just a copycat of the old days – a re-interpolation of the music and inspirations of Monk for a slightly different jazz idiom, presented with 4 saxophones, 1 trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums – and no piano at all! Riley's on drums, and saxophones include Bruce Williams on alto and soprano, Wayne Escoffery and Jimmy Greene on tenor, and Jay Brandford on baritone – working alongside guitar from Freddie Bryant, bass from either Kiyashi Kitagawa or Peter Washington, and trumpet from Don Sickler, who sometimes blasts out in the lead. Titles include "Gallop's Gallop", "Green Chimneys", "Shuffle Boil", "Straight No Chaser", "Rhythm-A-Ning", and "Let's Call This". CD

Tom Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn – with Wayne Escoffery on tenor sax, Danny Grissett on piano and Fender Rhodes, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. CD

Sublime grooves from the first few years of the 21st Century – all work by other artists, but all strongly given the Jazzanova touch – and brought together here in one excellent package! Jazzanova are one of the few remixers that we'll automatically skip to when scanning a set – because they've got a way of expanding a tune while still loving the original – deepening elements that were almost overlooked by the original artist, in a way that makes us kind of wish they'd do more as full-fledged producers! In the meantime, though, we've got this great set to get us through – as it includes a wide range of tracks from different sources – including some especially hard to find singles that are now way out of print. 10 tracks in all – including "Song Of Will (Jazzanova's rhythm happening" by Eddie Gale, "Besteiras Do Amor (Jazzanova rmx)" by Marcos Valle, "Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova's guestlist mix)" by Masters At Work with Roy Ayers, "Wonderlove (Jazzanova rmx)" by Heavy, "You Ain't Really Down (Jazzanova's Hey Baby rmx)" by Status IV, "Let It Go (Jazzanova rmx)" by Shaun Escoffery, "Black Heart (Jazzanova's white soul dub)" by Calexico, and "Honest (Jazzanova's honestly yours rmx)" by Nuspirit Helsinki. CD

Luques Curtis, Mark Przybylowski, and Mike Boone on bass, Mark Allen and Todd Marcus on bass clarinet, Anwar Marshall, Donald Edwards, and Gene Jackson on drums, Jim Holton, Neil Podgurski, and Orrin Evans on piano, Chelsea Baratz, Darryl Yokley, Doug DeHays, Jaleel Shaw, Mark Allen, Ralph Bowen, Rob Landham, Tia Fuller, Tim Warfield, Todd Bashore, Victor North, Wade Dean and Wayne Escoffery on saxophone, Brent White, Ernest Stuart, Frank Lacy, Joe McDonough, and Stafford Hunter on trombone, and Brian Kilpatrick, Curtis Taylor, Daud El-Bakara, Josh Evans, Leon Jordan Jr, Luke Brandon, Tatum Greenblatt, Tim Thompson, and Walter White on trumpet. CD

A bold quintet set from trumpeter Tom Harrell – one that's a bit more back to basics than some of his other recent outings – with an especially strong focus on horn solos spiraling out over the rhythms! Harrell's got a nice bit in his trumpet, and plays some moodier flugelhorn too – sounding great on the mellow numbers – and Wayne Escoffery adds his tenor to the lead too. Danny Grissett is mostly on piano, but plays some Fender Rhodes at points – and rhythms from Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Jonathan Blake on drums often have occasional bop inflections. Titles include "Present", "Right As Rain", "Journey To The Stars", "Preludim", "A Blue Time", "The Question", and "Melody In B Flat". CD

Tom Harrell on trumpet, Wayne Escoffery on tenor and soprano saxophone, Tom Harrell on flugelhorn, Danny Grissett on piano and Fender Rhodes, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. CD

Man, we've always loved trumpeter Tom Harrell – but over the last few years, we've grown to love him even more – thanks to the ever-advancing quality of records like this! Tom's always been one hell of a trumpeter, but he also seems to have grown into a richly visionary leader too – coming up with this amazing sound for his group, filled with even richer tones and more vivid colors than ever before! It's hard to really put our finger on it, but one listen to this album, and you'll know what we're talking about – a quality that makes you sit up and take notice, then go rifling through your collection to revisit all the Harrell sides from decades before. Of course, the strength of the group has a lot to do with the sound here – a wonderful lineup that features Wayne Escoffery on tenor, Danny Grissett on piano and Fender Rhodes, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums – on titles that include "Storm Approaching", "Let The Children Play", "Roman Nights", "Agua", "Study In Sound", "Bird In Flight", and "Year Of The Ox". CD

A stunning reinvention of the music of Charles Mingus – still very much with all the fire and spirit of the great one's original intent – but taken to new territory here in the hands of Frank Lacy! Lacy is every bit the same sort of visionary leader as Mingus – and although he plays a hell of a trombone, he acts here mostly as a singer and director of a sublime large ensemble that features Jack Walrath and Lew Soloff on trumpets, Wayne Escoffery and Craig Handy on tenors, Conrad Herwig and Earl McIntyre on trombones, Ronnie Cuber on baritone, and David Kikoski and Helen Sung on piano. Frank's voice is warmly raspy, and deeply personal – just right for the straining tension that often comes from the best Mingus music – that yearning for expression that continues to make his sound so powerful. Lyrics here are penned by Mingus himself – plus Langston Hughes, Joni Mitchell, and Elvis Costello – and titles include "Weird Nightmare", "Consider Me", "Eclipse", "Chair In The Sky", "Noonlight", "Dry Cleaner From Des Moines", and "Sweet Sucker Dance". CD