This is Brazilian singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Ed Motta‘s 12th album, produced by Kamau Kenyatta (producer for Gregory Porter and an upcoming project by Detroit singer Kathy Kosins) in Los Angeles. The similarity to both Donald Fagen and Frank McComb, especially in the opening midtempo, swaying track “Captain’s Refusal”, is enormous.

At 23 years of age, Sarah McKenzie is already an acclaimed jazz vocalist and pianist whose album “Close Your Eyes” won Best Jazz Album at the 2012 ARIA Awards.She is also this years Jazz Bell Award Winner for Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album with her latest recording. With fellow Australian band members,Hugh Stuckey (guitar) and Alex Boneham (bass) Sarah is joined by an international line-up of musicians including Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Warren Wolf (vibraphone) Marco Valeri (drums, percussion) and Grammy Award-winning producer Brian Bacchus. ‘We Could Be Lovers’ features a number of Sarah’s own compositions and arrangements including ‘That’s It, I Quit’ ,’Quoi,Quoi,Quoi’ and title track ‘We Could Be Lovers’ plus classic standards from Jerome Kern,Cole Porter, Henry Mancini and George Gershwin.

US composer and arranger Maria Schneider's new album for jazz orchestra "The Thompson Fields". Maria Schneider was in Sydney for the 2015 Sydney Festival, and ABC Jazz recorded her set with Australia's Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra. At the show, they performed a number of tunes from Schneider's then up-and-coming album The Thompson Fields. The CD has finally been released, and it features Schneider's jazz orchestra in full flight.