The great Oliver Lake joins the Tarbaby trio of pianist Orrin Evans – along with a few other players who really help the group knock the record out of the park! There's a vibe here that's different than some of Evans' other Tarbaby sets – not just the presence of Lake's alto, which is superb, and given a showcase that could make the album one of his best in years – but also because there seems to be a higher sort of spirit to the whole record overall – really reaching for new goals in the music, as Evans piano resonates strongly with the bass of Eric Revis and drums of Nasheet Waits – with added guest work from Josh Lawrence on trumpet and Dana Murray on percussion. The set begins with Orrin singing on a composition by the great Trudy Pitts (one of our all-time heroes of jazz) – the tune "Blessed Ones The Eternal Truth" – and other tunes are by group members, and include "Purple", "Paix", "Bonu", "Bumper", "Round Robin", "House Of Leaves", and "Dance Of The Evil Toys" – plus a version of the Prince tune "Sometimes It Snows In April". CD

Wonderful trio material from guitarist Jeff Parker – a lean, clear demonstration of his fantastic command of the instrument – in ways that are very different than the larger sonic palette of some of his other recent albums! In truth, the session is a three-pointed star, not just Parker's own – as it features some perfect work on drums from Nasheet Waits, whose sense of space and open touch on the kit really fits the mode here – as does the bass of Eric Revis, who's maybe the most subtle force on the record, but a tremendously powerful one too. Parker's guitar is illuminated with amazing color and tone throughout – and titles include "Between Nothingness & Infinity", "Similar Limits", "Drunkard's Lullaby", "That Eastside Romp", "Room For VG", and "Watusi". CD

Fred Hersch on piano with Ralph Alessi on trumpet and flugelhorn, Reid Anderson and Drew Gress on bass, Jamey Haddad on percussion, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone, and Tom Rainey and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

Michael Marcus on saxophone, Rahn Burton on organ, Nasheet Waits on drums, and Carlos Patato Valdes on congas. CD

Mighty bold work from bassist Christian McBride – heading up the wonderful New Jawn quartet, a pianoless combo that really allows all players to shine with an unexpected sense of freedom! Drummer Nasheet Waits is helping McBride out with the rhythms – often with a touch that's nice and loose, and very open – a fluid way of moving around that seems to really encourage strong work from the trumpet of Josh Evans and tenor and bass clarinet of Marcus Strickland – both players who have a sense of structure, but are nicely loose too – really working with a sort of energy we never would have expected on a Christian McBride record many years back. Titles include "Moonchild", "Lurkers", "Dolphy Dust", "Obsequious", and "Head Bedlam". CD

A very different album than you might expect from London reedman Shabaka Hutchings – a set that's got a very peaceful, meditative vibe a times – and one that has Shabaka looking inside for righteous inspiration, then spinning things out in a beautiful way! Hutchings put aside his more familiar tenor for flute on most of the record – although he also blows tenor on one track, plus a bit of shakuhachi and clarinet as well – amidst a shifting array of guests who include Jason Moran and Nduduzo Makhathini on piano, Esperanza Spaulding on bass, Nasheet Waits on drums, Brandee Younger on harp, Carlos Nino on percussion, and Migue Atwood Ferguson on violin – the last two of whom are maybe no surprise, given the vibe of the album. There's vocals on a few tracks – from Saul Williams, Moses Sumney, Elucid, and Laraaji – and Andre 3000 also plays flute on one track too. Titles include "Kiss Me Before I Forget", "Song Of The Motherland", "Breathing", "Insecurities", "End Of Innocence", "As The Planets & Stars Collapse", and "The Wounded Need To Be Replentished". CD

A very different album than you might expect from London reedman Shabaka Hutchings – a set that's got a very peaceful, meditative vibe a times – and one that has Shabaka looking inside for righteous inspiration, then spinning things out in a beautiful way! Hutchings put aside his more familiar tenor for flute on most of the record – although he also blows tenor on one track, plus a bit of shakuhachi and clarinet as well – amidst a shifting array of guests who include Jason Moran and Nduduzo Makhathini on piano, Esperanza Spaulding on bass, Nasheet Waits on drums, Brandee Younger on harp, Carlos Nino on percussion, and Migue Atwood Ferguson on violin – the last two of whom are maybe no surprise, given the vibe of the album. There's vocals on a few tracks – from Saul Williams, Moses Sumney, Elucid, and Laraaji – and Andre 3000 also plays flute on one track too. Titles include "Kiss Me Before I Forget", "Song Of The Motherland", "Breathing", "Insecurities", "End Of Innocence", "As The Planets & Stars Collapse", and "The Wounded Need To Be Replentished". LP, Vinyl record album

The music of Weather Report, served up by that group's legendary bassist Miroslav Vitous – but at a level that's quite different than the original! There's definitely lots of Weather Report-like elements at play here – not just Miroslav's bass and keyboards, but also the kind of wide-edged approach to fusion that the group had – that way of making your stereo feel as if it was somehow encompassing an extra 90 degrees of the spatial spectrum in the way the instruments come together! Yet the music here is also a lot more freewheeling, too – almost improvisations based on Weather Report themes – stepping "out" much more than that group ever did – save maybe on some of their more brooding live moments – which makes the whole thing way more than just a rehash of older songs. The group's a sextet – with Gary Campbell and Roberto Bonisolo on soprano and tenor saxes, Aydin Esen on keyboards, and both Gerald Cleaver and Nasheet Waits on drums – on titles that include "Birdland Variations", "Pinocchio", "Acrobat Issues", "Morning Lake", "Scarlet Woman Variations", and "Seventh Arrow". CD

Mark Turner on tenor saxophone, Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Reid Anderson on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

An amazing document of a unique musical moment – an entire jazz festival, virtually dedicated to Peter Brotzmann himself! The legendary Brotzmann not only curated the festival – filling it with some of his key collaborators and musical contemporaries – but he also plays on a fair bit of the titles here, too – in different groupings that reflect not only his long history in the European avant scene, but also his ties to Chicago, and his work with Japanese improvisers too! The package is wonderful – the next best thing to being at this exclusive event in person – and the set features 5CDs worth of music from the festival, with performances by Sonore (with Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, & Mats Gustafsson), Chicago Tentet with John Tchicai, solo work by Jeiji Haino, the Hairy Bones quartet with Brotzmann and Toshinori Kondo, the Full Blast Trio, the DKV Trio, Caspar Brotzmann Massaker, and various other groupings with players who include Jeb Bishop, Joe McPhee, Mars Williams, Jason Adasiewicz, Nasheet Waits, Masahiko Satoh, Bill Laswell, and many others. CD

Marc Cary on piano, Yarbrough Charles Laws on flute, Tarus Mateen on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

Saxophonist Marty Ehrlich is certainly exalted here – working in a superb trio setting that seems to make for one of his best records in years! The rhythm duo are fantastic – Nasheet Waits on drums and John Hebert on bass – both players who create this brooding sense of power right from the start, which Ehrlich then augments with deftly creative work on alto, clarinet, bass clarinet, and wooden flutes – notes that are sharp and striking, but always incredibly thoughtful too – a really special balance that makes for a hell of a record. Titles include "Stone", "Dance No 5", "Senhor PC", "Yes Yes", "Dusk", "Sometimes", and "The Arc Of The Oar". CD

Features Tony Malaby on saxophones, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, William Parker on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

With Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

A nice little live trio outing with Jason Moran's angular piano out front of Tarus Mateen on acoustic electric bass and Nasheet Waits on the kit. The set has a much freer, and more laguorous feel than Moran's great (if a little straight) Black Stars album, and fleshes out the more experimental ideas he put to tape solo on the Modernistic album. "Planet Rock" fares especially well in this setting – with the tight bass and snapping trap that was missing in the studio version. Another nice piece of work by possibly the greatest young talent on Blue Note right now! Other tracks include "Gangsterism On Canvas", "Ringing My Phone (Straight Outta Istanbul)", "Gentle Shifts South", "Body & Soul", "Infospace", "Out Front", and "Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2". CD

New work from pianist Jason Moran – one of Blue Note's more exciting new talents of the past 10 years. Moran's joined on the album by Sam Rivers, which is fitting, as the best tracks have a soulful spirit that recalls the creativity of Rivers' best "new thing" years at Blue Note. Rivers plays tenor, soprano, flute, and piano – and the pair are accompanied by Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. Titles include "Earth Song", "Summit", "Say Peace", "Foot Under Foot", "Draw The Light Out", and "The Sun At Midnight". CD

Features Moran on piano, Hammond, and Fender Rhodes – plus Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

Jason Moran and The Bandwagon – his stellar jazz trio featuring the top tier jazz pianist along with drummer Nasheet Waits & Tarus Mateen on bass – marking their 10th year with this thoroughly excellent album for Blue Note! Moran has stayed plenty busy in the aughties, but Ten is actually his first album since 2006 – and it's a great one, rivaling his first couple records for Blue Note – and that's saying something, because those are among our favorite modern albums for the venerable jazz label in many years. Includes several sharp Moran originals such like "Blue Blocks", "RFK In The Land Of Apartheid", "Pas De Deux-Lines Ballet", "Gangsterism Over 10 Years", "Old Babies" and "Playtolive" (the latter with the great Andrew Hill) – plus Mateen's "The Subtle One" and readings of Jaki Byard's "To Bob Vatel Of Paris" and Monk's "Crepuscule With Nellie". Brilliant stuff! CD

David Murray finds a fantastic new outlet for his many talents here – working with the younger songwriter Saul Williams – who delivers some fantastic lyrics throughout! Saul's as much a spoken word artist as he is a singer – and his passages on the album have this righteous power that takes us back to the hippest sort of music like this from the 70s – but also filtered through some of the lyrical possibilities of the better side of the hip hop generations, especially in the way the power of his messages come across! Murray is fantastic, too – really soulful and swinging, both on tenor and clarinet – and the songs often have Williams or Murray soloing first, then the other taking over. The rest of the group is pretty great as well – with Orrin Evans on piano, Craig Harris on trombone, Jaribu Shahid on bass, Nasheet Waits on drums, and a bit of Fender Rhodes from Jason Moran. Almost all tracks are originals – with titles that include "A Mirror Of Youth", "Kush", "Forever Brothers", "Music Of The Mind", "Deep In Me", "Positive Messages", "Obe", and "Citizens" – and the album also features a version of the Sun Ra tune "Enlightenment". CD

Luis Perdomo on piano with Hans Glawischnig and Henry Grimes on bass, and Eric McPherson and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

David Berkman on piano, Dick Oatts on saxophone, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. CD

With Nasheet Waits on drums. CD