Veteran songmasters and multi-Grammy award winners Take 6 have so very much for which to be joyful and grateful….and they are, as is evident on their latest release Believe, a sterling 14-track offering of jazz, hip hop, R&B, gospel, a cappella voTake 6cals and vocals incorporating instruments.

With ten brand new contemporary jazz numbers (four of them co-written by Steve Oliver) ‘Persuasion’ is an unadulterated delight and a ready-made Christmas gift for smooth jazz lovers everywhere. The album is quickly up and running with the funky groove of the title cut that, as well as being the lead single, also features sax from Boney James. Also delivering all the rhythm and melody you will ever need is ‘Take It Up’ while elsewhere the horn driven intro of ‘Surreal Theme’ paves the way to contemplative piano from Simpson that is in magical contrast to the foot tapping chorus line.

Pink Martini casts its unique big-band lounge sound around the world on the new album Je Dis Oui! The French phrase, meaning “I say yes,” comes from the opening track “Joli Garçon,” and the song’s carpe diem message sets the tone for the whole high-spirited enterprise.

This set, made in 2007, is the last studio recording Joe Zawinul worked on before his death. It places the great Austrian pianist/composer in front of a mixed-genre chamber orchestra led by young Estonian classical conductor Kristjan Jarvi, and concentrates on the music of Zawinul's later years with his Syndicate, rather than the more famous two-decade reign of Weather Report. The dressing of jazz, improv or fusion ideas in classical music's graceful robes often does few favours to any of the contributing genres, but this is an exception: sustaining the Syndicate's headlong energies while enhancing passing melodic ideas that the erudite Zawinul would sometimes casually toss out.

Paul Brown the two time Grammy winning guitarist released his newest album “One Way Back”. You can feel Brown on every note of this album, it’s all about modern jazz, funk and for everyone’s good surprise a touch of blues. “One Way Back” was released on September 30, 2016, by Woodward Avenue Records, and will bring a big blast on today’s market.

Grammy nominated René Marie takes us to that space on Sound of Red, her first album of all-original material. Set for release via Motema / MustHaveJazz / Membran, the album's 11 songs - some of them autobiographical - provide glimpses of the many small but profound turning points that are a part of an individual life. René's clever songcraft and sensual vocal delivery make those personal moments not only meaningful but enlightening to a broad audience.

Danny Green reaches new creative heights on this, his fourth recording as a leader (second for OA2 Records). Recorded over several days at New York's famed Sear Sound with master producer Matt Pierson, Danny brings together his five year-old trio, along with a string quartet, to interpret eleven new highly personal compositions, each shaped by elements of his life's narrative - feelings of warmth or nostalgia, the experience of a harried moment, or simply the convergence of a time and a place.

“Traverse This Universe”, finds Ms. Sophie Lee reaching beyond her traditional jazz roots with original material written alongside her ukulele and with the help of producer/songwriters Luke Winslow-King, Earl J. Scioneaux, III and Ben Polcer. “Traverse This Universe” features six original compositions and five standards performed by Ms. Sophie Lee’s mainstay Spotted Cat band and showcasing over a dozen talented New Orleans musicians, including Aurora Nealand, Helen Gillet, Charlie Halloran, Khris Royal amongst others. As lagniappe, the album artwork highlights the creative talents of her eight and six year old daughters. Sophie Lee, transplanted native of the ’90s or not, could be turning into the Leah Chase of trad jazz; not only does she operate Three Muses while holding down a steady gig at the Spotted Cat, she’s preparing to relaunch Seoul Shack in mid-summer at an Uptown location.