Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson - Bone Bells Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
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Any new album by either Sylvie Courvoisier is Mary Halvorson reason to rejoice, another collaboration between them even more so. Bone Bells seems to be very much what I'd expect from these two wonderful musicians, maybe even a little better. There is plenty of that understated avant gardness here, and as I've come to expect with these gifted composers, the compositions actually go somewhere. And I happily follow. The two employ a little more genuine counterpoint than usual, which really tickles my ear just a little more. Another reason to be excited about jazz in 2025!
Nnenna Freelon - Beneath the Skin Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Vocal Jazz
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After a few weeks dealing with life, I got back to Saturday Night Vocals last night with my first album from Nnenna Freelon. I can't imagine a better reentry point! This is a genuine artist. Her phrasing, inflection, and modulation all combine to create a beautifully human, emotive expressiveness that guides the listener along a wonderfully flowing musical journey. She is a storyteller songstress extraordinaire.
Sun-Mi Hong - Fourth Page; Meaning of a Nest Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
I discovered, and absolutely fell in love with, Sun-MI Hong via her last album, Third Page: Resonance. Hear we have a Fourth Page with a more esoteric subtitle. Incidentally, I could not find any first or second page, so maybe we've got a sort of Star Wars sequencing going on here . Herre on the fourth page, Hong and her ensemble are less violently avant garde, sparing the seemingly random outbursts, but remain firmly outside the mainstream with aggressive cross rhythms and extremely knotty counterpoint. As much as I loved the third page, I think I'm even more into this one as it has all the uniqueness of its predecessor with better overall flow, and the soloing on this one seems even more spirited, intricate, and perfectly integrated. With every song having something to say, this album is a real marvel. On the extramusical side, I really dig the cover art as well.
Bobby Timmons - Easy Does It Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Avant Garde
One of my favorite pianists leads this 1961 trio date, and while it may not quite be a top 3 Bobby Timmons album for me, it's still chock full of stellar tunes and good clean hard bop fun, just as you'd expect given the cast.
Mizo Hazama - Live Life This Day: Celebrating Thad Jones Year: 2025
Style or Subgenre: Mainstream Jazz, Neo Bop
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I tend to be leery of tribute albums, although I've had far better success with them in the jazz realm than in others, so I decided to give this brand new release a spin. Worry set in early as the first few bars came in sounding far too smooth for my taste. But as things progressed, composer Mizo Hazama's astonishing level of creativity came sharply into focus. She reworks Thad's tunes in exciting ways, turning the original structures into fully formed, masterful compositions. The approach here is more akin to Jones's big band outings than his small ensemble hard bop dates, but still distinctly Hazama's in the end, and in this case that's a very good thing (I say this as someone who truly loves Thad's originals). This album is sheer joy throughout. You can year the originality at the same time you can hear the love for the source. A tribute album can get no more recommendable than this.
Trombonist Reggie Watkins writes the next chapter in the fertile Pittsburgh jazz scene with this very respectable neo bop date. There's lots to love here between Watkins's creative slide work, sympathetic piano vamping from, and particularly interesting rhythm work from bassist Eli Naragon and drummer Jason Washington Jr. I'm always excited to discover a great new trombone album, so I'll definitely be listening to this more.
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. Herre on the fourth page, Hong and her ensemble are less violently avant garde, sparing the seemingly random outbursts, but remain firmly outside the mainstream with aggressive cross rhythms and extremely knotty counterpoint. As much as I loved the third page, I think I'm even more into this one as it has all the uniqueness of its predecessor with better overall flow, and the soloing on this one seems even more spirited, intricate, and perfectly integrated. With every song having something to say, this album is a real marvel. On the extramusical side, I really dig the cover art as well.
