Alex Henderson

   
John Scofield

 
Some jazz musicians are content to stay in their comfort zones; they rarely change from one album to the next, and they believe that musical challenges are to be avoided. But not John Scofield. Not only is the influential guitarist unafraid of challenges‑‑he thrives on them and refuses to become predictable. 

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Stan Getz
 
Since Stan Getz' death from cancer in 1991, a fair amount of previouisly unreleased material (both live and studio recordings) has come out posthumously.

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John Patitucci
 
When people hear the word “communion,” they usually think of a Christian gathering. But the word can also be used to describe a gathering or fellowship that doesn’t necessarily take place in a religious setting. Communion, John Patitucci’s tenth album as a leader, is so-named because it represents a musical fellowship with a variety of musicians.

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David Sanborn

Over the years, David Sanborn has had a way of coming up with intriguing album title--titles that have included Songs from the Night Before, Hearsay, Voyeur and Another Hand. There is always an interesting story behind the titles that Sanborn comes up with, and Timeagain is no exception. How did Timeagain, the veteran alto saxophonist’s first project for the Verve Music Group after a nine-year stay at Elektra, get its title? Sanborn explains: “I came up with the title ‘Timeagain’ because much of this album is reexamining things from my past. On Timeagain, I’m readdressing songs that have meant a lot to me over the years--some of which I heard when I was growing up in St. Louis.”

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Charlie Haden
 
Charlie Haden is no stranger to Latin music. It was Haden who, in 1969, founded the Liberation Music Orchestra, a visionary, unapologetically political outfit that combined avant-garde jazz with both Spanish and Cuban influences. Nonetheless, Nocturne demonstrates that at 63, the veteran acoustic bassist is still quite capable of finding new things to say in the Latin realm. Produced with the acclaimed Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Nocturne marks the first time that Haden has devoted an entire album to boleros.

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Poncho Sanchez

Poncho Sanchez was only 12 when he first heard The Jazz Crusaders, an intensely swinging unit that epitomized hard bop on the West Coast in the 1960s. Now, at 45, the Latin jazz and salsa percussionist celebrates the bands legacy with Freedom Sound, which features two of its founding members: trombonist Wayne Henderson and tenor saxophonist Wilton Felder.

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Jimmy Bruno

Throughout the 1990s, Jimmy Bruno’s name was synonymous with hard bop. Bruno was the guitarist to turn to when you wanted to hear pure, unapologetic, hard-swinging bop. 

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Michel Camilo 

When two musicians with radically different backgrounds come together, there are often concerns about how compatible they will be. The musicians might find that the gap separating them is too wide—or on the other hand, they might find some common ground and develop something that is truly fresh and interesting. Very much an example of the latter, Spain finds Dominican jazz pianist Michel Camilo and Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito providing a jazz/flamenco hybrid that is as fresh-sounding as it is unorthodox.

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Verve Music Group, 2002 (John Scofield)

Concord Jazz, 2001 (John Patitucci)

Verve Music Group, 2001 (Charlie Haden)

Verve Music Group, 2003 (David Sanborn)

Concord Jazz, 1997 (Poncho Sanchez)

Concord Jazz, 2001 (Jimmy Bruno)

Concord Jazz, 1997 (Stan Getz)