Chris Madsen - Threefold Year: 2026
Style or Subgenre: Free Jazz. Post Bop
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After listening to almost 400 current year albums in 2025, a combination of work/family/community commitments... and sheer burnout, had me not only throttling back on my listening, but limiting that listening to old favorites and largely familiar artists. So here in October, I'm just now getting around to my first 2026 album, and it wasn't exactly an easy entry point. This chordless trio led by composer/Salman Chris Madsen roams pretty free for the most part and finding your footing isn't always easy. This is especially true on the opening cut, zdigital Harvest every the trio constantly teases up with a hint of a foundation here and there, but constantly shifting structures act like a sort of musical quicksand... and like quicksand, your best bet is to not struggle against it, but rather feel it out. Which i did.... on the second listen.
After that challenging opener, things settle in a little easier, song by song. To my ear, the album really hits its stride through its middle section. The fourth cut, Hidden Message, kicks off with 1:40 of dramatic drum solo after which the song gets surprisingly introspective. The following song, Dream Music, while still centered of free sax soloing, settles into an easily discernable jazz-blies form that delights the ear. Next comes the quite aptly named Revolving Door. But this isn't an automatic or continuously revolving door, but one that moves only with the randomized flow of traffic passing through it.
A free jazz trio, especially a chordless one, really requires a solid rhythm section, and this group is more than up to the task. Drummer Dana Hall, whether operating in a structured or unstructured moment is always on point and his delivery comes across as more thoroughly musical than merely percussive. Bassist Clark Sommers brings a rare level of expressiveness to upright acoustic bass, especially considering the largely free environment he inhabits.
This album was further out than I expected, but still managed to bring me home in a reassuring way. I'm very pleased with my first 2026 album listen.
Bobby Hutcherson - Stick Up! Year: 1968
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop
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It's been a long while since I visited this fantastic album. Not sure why, because so much of this album sits right in my musical max love zone. On today's listen, I was immediately reminded that, while this is nominally a Bobby Hutcherson album, sax man Joe Henderson lets the listener know right off the bat he'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting on this one; and he does it in classic, exuberant and flowing Henderson style. Whether blowing on latin jazz, hard bop, post bop or blues, whether he's grooving, exploring, or just swinging, he's always perfectly on point. For his part, the vibes of leader Hutcherson are also quite flowy throughout; even when going off the standard bop oriented script into more modern territory, his lines always have a certain elegance to them on this album. Interestingly, his most amazing performance comes on the 9 minute slow instrumental ballad, "verse" and its nice to see the leader get out front for a while... and totally nail it! Of course this album is going to be a winner for me just because pianist McCoy Tyner is on it. But the really cool thing about this listen from a point of view of getting to check out another wonderful Tyner performance, is that is usual thundering left hand is largely kept in check, and he also expresses a flow in sync with his ensemblemates. He even plays a ballad that is, I think, the most delicate work I've ever heard him bring forth, and it is in that realm, every bit as great as how perfectly he nails everything else he does. Will the wonders of this man never cease! This was Hutcherson's first album without drummer Joe Chambers at his side; a potential concern for me as a big Joe Chambers fan. But here again, the drums are superb throughout; Billy Higgins kicks off the first piece letting you know right away he's gonna be having fun with this one.... serious fun. When it's time, he reigns in that exubarance and provides a rock solid foundation for the group. Yeah, I love this album, and with (I'm guessing) about six years more of jazz listening under my belt since the last spin, I think I actually appreciate it even more than I did before. Totally top shelf stuff right here.
Eastern Rebellion - Eastern Rebellion Year: 1976
Style or Subgenre: Hard Bop, Post Bop
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This came by way of recommendation and I have to say, it's the best recommendation I've received in some time. That's all the more exciting because I'm usually more impressed than actually moved by pianist Cedar Walton, who leads this group. But here, I thrilled to his every note and more importantly to my overall enjoyment of this set, his compositions and arrangements. That said, this album wouldn't have immediately vaulted to the top of my appreciation hierarchy without more than solid input from the rest of the ensemble. Of particular note is sax man George Coleman, who plays with intensity bordering on ferocity, but always withing the scope of the song. He gives me both Joe Henderson and Hank Mobley vibes (sometimes at the same time) and since those are my two favorite sax players, it's no wonder I took to his work on this album. But even that wouldn't be worth such raves were it part of such brilliant interplay with Walton. Oh, and I was actually referred here as the result of having gushed about the drumming of Billy Higgins on a much earlier album... and if anything, his playing is even more impressive here. It is incredibly precise without every sounding mechanical or sterile. It is borderline frenetic without ever feeling unrestrained. In short, it propels the songs, keeping a sizzling forward momentum at all times but without fatiguing the listener. Truly wonderful stuff, all five lengthy cuts, without exception and without letdown.
Quincy Jones - Big Band Bossa Bossa Nova Year: 1962
Style or Subgenre: Crossover Jazz, Big Band, Latin Jazz
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After a recent listen to Lee Morgan's Cornbread, I was again struck by how much some songs (at least the head) sounded like 60s game show introduction tunes. Normally, that would be a quick disqualification, but Morgan and crew turn them into legitimate jazz and the album is actually one of my all time faves, often vying with The Sidewinder as my favorite album from my favorite trumpeter. That in mind, I went on a hunt for another album that might give me a similar vibe/listening experience. Now that's a pretty specific criterion, so I allowed some leeway (pun intended) in my search. I ultimately settled on an album I would have never approached otherwise. My familiarity with Quincy Jones is primarily as a producer of r&b flavored pop music, a realm I'm not all that kee on, so that made him suspect as a purveyor of real jazz. Add to that my relative lack of love for Brazilian subgenres, and this album has a lot to overcome with me.
But I do love to challenge my own biases from time to time, and given that this sounded like the best possible avenue to satisfy the current craving, I decided to give it a go despite my misgivings. Well, we didn't get off to a good start. The opening Soul Bossa Nova did indeed take me back to the time period in question, but only on account of recognizing it as theme music from Austin Powers. So it did give me that jaunty 60s vibe, but in a mocking sense rather than a serious one.
Nevertheless, the rest of the album became a surprisingly effective satisfaction for my unusually focused musical craving. Like those game show themes, the heads for each of the remaining tunes could easily evoke a game show vibe, and yet the songs turned into legitimate jazz, with some surprisingly effective improvisational soloing, especially from Phil Woods on alto and, to a slightly lesser degree, Clark Terry on flugelhorn (a great game show sounding instrument!). My only real complaint is that the songs were too short, most falling into the 2-3 minute range and only one topping 5 minutes. But then again, this was right in line with the type of music I was seeking. Still, some of those songs, and the quality of the soloing made me yearn for a little more development.
But in the end, the discovery was a success, and I may actually return to the album from time to time as my mood dictates. If you want something that is clearly jazz, but at the same time light and accessible, this is a great choice.
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
Tom Harrell - Moon Alley Year: 2026
Style or Subgenre: Post Bop
I really appreciated Tom Harrell's style the first time I heard it and, even though he has a large catalog, every album seems to have its own identity. On moon alley, I zero in on his genuinely beautiful playing, more so than I would expect given his tendency to be a little brassier than some. Along with that, this album shows particularly strong compositional skill from Harrell, who wrote five of the seven songs. His writing here delivers some especially tasty chord progressions, keeping my ear fully engaged from start to finish.
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Joe Zawinul - Dialects Year: 1986
Style or Subgenre: Free Jazz. Fusion, Global Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz
I loved Joe Zawinul collaborations with artists from Miles Davis to Cannonball Aderly, and then his solo Fusion debut. So I was keen to see what he was doing a decade and a half later, and the title and album cover promised some great global jazz. Alas, this one didn't work for me so well. This is loaded with the most artificial sounding of 80s synthesizer, which to my ear is hard to reconcile with the expression of traditional indigenous identities (in addition to just sounding bad to begin with). Still a solid composer, still a skilled instrumentalist, and still a great concept, but the executions leads this to being an album I won't likely be revisiting.
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Fischman
