Hooffoot - Phantom Limb Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Fusion
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How do I describe Hooffoot's 2025 album, Phantom Limb? As much as we hate to reduce things to labels, that's what I'm going to do here as it is most apt.
The line between prog and fusion is anything but solid or well defined. If I was to draw a continuum with prog on the left end and fusion on the right end, there are some who might still call some things left of center fusion and some things right of center prog. That blurry overlap in the middle? That's where Hooffoot lives. Please don't mistake that reductionist impression as any kind of negative criticism though; this is to my ear, exceptional music. Interestingly, while both fusion and prog are known for blinding virtuosity, that's not the focus of this album. The musicianship is obviously great, but not overtly showy; rather the album communicates with impressively well composed long pieces, just 4 total ranging from just under 9 minutes to almost 12. So while you might not get the acrobatics of, say, Animals as leaders, you get something ultimately more listenable and worth returning to. Highly recommended.
Piotr Wojtasik - Lonely Town Year: 1995
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Contemporary Jazz
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Piotr Wojtasik - Inscape Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop, Modern Jazz
These two albums from new-to-me Polish trumpeter Piotr Wojtasik sit 20 year apart and I really took to them. The earlier album might be a little to mainstream for me to really love, but it was still a fine listen and I'll probably spin it again at some point while I'm in the kitchen preparing a gourmet meal as it should make fine accompaniment to such an activity. The more recent album, released this very year, has nestled into it's excellent compositions, some excellent soloing from each of the front line instruments and makes for a stronger listen to me; one I'm more likely to sit down and lend a dedicated ear to.
Anais Reno - Lady of the Lavender Mist Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Vocal Jazz
So many jazz standards started out as songbook, and then got reworked as instrumentals. On the title cut of Anais Reno's new release, she flips the script, taking Duke Ellington's beloved instrumental and pens her own original lyrics to complete the song.... and it works, although I have to admit it took me a second listen to the album to adapt my ear to Reno's style. The beauty of her voice is unmistakable from the start though, which is what prompted me to give it a second go, and the second chance was rewarded. Reno proves to be a fine storyteller, she chose her songs well (all the rest were vocal pieces from the get go), and brings welcome individuality to each one.
Josef Leiber - Mystic Journey Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Spiritual Jazz
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Brand new classic spiritual jazz in a modern package. Miles is in here, so is Sun Ra, and so is Alice Coltrane. My ear appreciates this being a trumpet led album, and in addition for my appreciation of the leader's tone and expressiveness, it's all packaged in solid compositions. This album has more guest appearances than you can swing a sax at, yielding almost zero continuity in personnel from track to track; Leimberg must be a solid leader as well though, as one never gets a sense of lack of continuity. The musical message remains true. A little too true sometimes as the synthesized space age sounds are more ubiquitous than necessary and some of the spoken word spirituals get difficult to take seriously. But these are minor quibbles, this is a great album.
Daniel Ferruz - Un Presente Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz, Post Bop
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This 2025 post bop/mainstream contemporary jazz outing led by Spanish pianist Daniel Ferruzgets off to a swinging fun start with the opening track, "Leo." The rest of the album is perfectly solid, but never again brings the magic of that opening cut. The remainder is mostly introspective and serves that purpose well, it just seems out of sync with that opener. "Abuelo" is another standout cut, with Ferruz's best piano work.
Sarter Kit - What I Am and What I Am Not Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
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German alto Tara Sarter leads this minimalist avant garde trio including Lukas Akintaya (drums) and Elias Stemseder (piano, synths) in an intriguing, almost uncategorizable set. Something definitely different without being bizarre. Compositions and improvisation come together in a sort of uniquely spiced experimental stew that should interest a lot of folks with an adventurous palette.
Hans Luchs - The Spell Is Broken Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Bop, Buitar Jazz
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A joyous add to my jazz guitar collection! Classic, clean tone playing bop and occasional post bop in a tight little quartet with piano (plus sax on four cuts). Melodic, expressive contemporary bop I can really sink my ears into.
Elaine Martin - Morning Glories Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Vocal Jazz
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Last night's Saturday Night Vocals got off to a great start. Elaine Martin kicks off her 2025 release with "Love and Light," the first in a program of originals that have the Jazz Studies PhD holder and cancer survivor continuing to express her love of life through lush vocals packaged in interesting interesting rhythmic packages. Not all of the album lived up to the promise of that opening cut, but there were enough high points, one never need lift the needle.
Tony Tixier - Poems Never End Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Free Improvisation, Piano Jazz
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In 2020, I fell in love with French bassist Henri Texier's Chance album. Now Tixier and Texier are not related, and even if they are, so what?
Still, having a strong positive association with the similar name/national origin, I slipped this improvisational piano trio album into the queue.
So glad I did.
This is beautiful music. It is all inspired by poetry, and I'm really not much of a poetry guy, so that was a potential drawback. However, as is often the case, I don't really care what the inspiration is when the result is so wonderful. There's a little Bill Evans here, with a little more Keith Jarrett, all wrapped up in Tixier's French flair. I seem to keep using the word 'Joy" with my new discoveries, but it really applies here.
Landæus Trio - Resilience Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Free Improvisation, Piano Jazz, Modern Creative
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The Landæus Trio show some diversity on this new release, from song to song, and even within a song. Things start out as minimalist free improv and evolve into more melodic, mainstream piano trio music, morphing almost imperceptibly until it suddenly strikes you that you've left the land of out there and landed in the land of the familiar. Sometimes, the piano is playing a modern melody over a traditional rhythm section, but they make that work in a way that also grabs my ear. Like any great trio, these three musicians are almost telepathically linked in their connection, delivering a subtly stunning picture of coherence, even when delivered in a more random structure. I found this to be a very engaging listen.
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