Cadence Jazz World

Album Previews- January 2026

​​Composer and pianist Richard Carrick's recent work fuses his penchant for long form composition, fluency in extended techniques, versatile performance practice, and interest in structured improvisation. This newest album-length work, l’Algérie is the second part of a trilogy of large-scale works inspired in part by the music of the Maghreb region of North Africa, drawing on Carrick's own family background and a fresh approach to the region's diverse musical heritage.

Composer and pianist Richard Carrick conjures an evocative travelogue for an imagined journey through Algeria on his compelling new album-length work, l’Algérie. The second part of a trilogy of large-scale works inspired in part by the music of the Maghreb region of North Africa, l’Algérie is the most introspective and autobiographical piece of the project, drawing on the composer’s own family heritage and deeply personal exploration of the area’s richly varied musical traditions.

L’Algérie is scored for extended piano, oud, violin, cello and percussion, and performed by the acclaimed experimental chamber ensemble Either/Or: Carrick on piano, Bahar Badieitabar on oud, Jennifer Choi on violin, Justin Jay Hines on percussion and John Popham on cello. The concert-length composition is atypical in the contemporary and avant-garde chamber music world, where shorter, self-contained pieces are the norm — evidencing, as does much of his genre-blurring music, the influence of jazz, world music, and other forms on Carrick’s wide-ranging worldview.


Rodrigo Correia “Promessa” is the title track of Rodrigo Correia’s debut album. Initially composed on the guitar (like most of his tunes), it was then arranged for a rock-solid Lisbon-based quintet, featuring some of the most prominent musicians on the scene: alto saxophonist Ricardo Toscano, pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva, guitarist André Fernandes and drummer João Lencastre. At once song-like and improvisatory, the piece echoes both Portuguese and contemporary NYC jazz, resulting in an unusual (and yet accessible) blend: a catchy tune that develops into a freer saxophone and piano dialogue, followed by a masterful guitar solo. In a way, “Promessa” can be seen as an extremely concise synthesis of Correia’s musical universe as it currently stands.
Videoclip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjxwr30-XB0&list=RDPjxwr30-XB0&start_radio=1

https://rodrigocorreia.bandcamp.com/album/promessa​

Dave Douglas  Four Freedoms On Four Freedoms, acclaimed trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas convenes a remarkable new quartet featuring Marta Warelis (piano), Nick Dunston (bass) and Joey Baron (drums). Releasing January 30th, 2026, on Greenleaf Music. With over 60 albums as a leader, Dave Douglas continues to expand the language of creative music. Here, he channels President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 “Four Freedoms” speech - freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear - into a compelling new musical project. The ensemble is an analogy for a functioning society, with four distinct voices coexisting, conversing, and creating through improvisation. “I wrote this music for my dear friends Marta, Nick, and Joey. The compositions are personalized to them, how they play, and how they approach freedom in improvisation. We open up these tunes in new and unimagined ways on every gig.” – Dave Douglas​

https://davedouglas.bandcamp.com/album/four-freedoms​

Paul Richards Crossing Brooklyn Ferry All of the chamber works presented on this recording are connected through an engagement with cyclic patterns in time, engaging our senses of memory and expectation, generating fresh contexts for the presentation of similar materials. The eponymous work which lays at the heart of this album, a setting of Walt Whitman’s Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, ponders an ethical decision-making process considering of persons yet to be born. Our actions impact those around us now, but they also impact the future, potentially the far-distant future, and current technological developments may well mean that we are at a critical juncture in human history that can have profound implications for the living conditions, or even existence, of countless future persons. Whitman describes his experiences on the Brooklyn ferry and imagines future people having similar experiences to his own, and through this process he recognizes the common humanity, and value, in the people he is currently surrounded by, and in those who will someday “cross from shore to shore.” The poem moves seamlessly through various tenses and temporal orientations, reflecting its themes through a structure that is self-referential and repetitive in intriguing ways. Richards was inspired by both the structure and content of the poem, aiming to refract these ideas through a musical prism in an exploration of cycles of time and harmony.

https://paulrichardscomposer.bandcamp.com/album/crossing-brooklyn-ferry

​Klaus Wienerroither - Trumpet Tales In an orchestra, the trumpet, at least until the beginning of the 20th century, is mainly used to play some kind of fanfare, announcing glory, war or victory. It is safe to say that only in jazz has this instrument has shown its full sonic and emotional potential. The muted trumpet of Miles Davis has nothing to do with triumph. But of course, jazz trumpet players can just as well use the techniques and styles of classically trained musicians. First trumpet and drummer always take the lead in a decent jazz orchestra. The second jazz concert I saw when I was a kid was a quintet led by the legendary Woody Shaw. This experience made a very deep impression on me. So, trumpet sounds played a big part in my jazz education from the very beginning. I chose the guitar as my main instrument. When I got into straight ahead jazz, I always wanted to take the part of the tenor sax (same range and notation as the guitar) within a jazz quintet. Naturally, my first jazz album was a quintet with trumpet, guitar and a piano trio. From the very start I also wrote tunes dedicated to trumpet players. Three compositions were especially written for the collaboration with the Barbara Bruckmüller Big Band. Barbara arranged two tunes for her band, sax player Tobias Hoffmann did three arrangements, and I arranged four. I am very happy with the result and want to thank the musicians and engineers involved, making this dream project of mine possible.

https://quintonrecords.com​

Benjamin Cousins What We Dream It To Be Jazz clarinetist/composer Benjamin Cousins' debut album, What We Dream it to Be (WWDITB), is a forward-looking, reflective debut showcasing the New Orleans musician's skills as a musician and composer. With a growing career as a performer, Cousins displays his storytelling skills with WWDITB, an album of original works. Reconnecting with the optimistic sensibilities of childhood, the creatively conceptualized album explores the impact of honoring our dreams and realizing their full potential.  Together with his band, The Sonic Architects - guitarist Matt Sewell, percussionist Brian Richburg Jr., pianist Wilfie Williams, bass player Dan Winshall, and guest vocalist Robbie Pate, Cousins presents fresh works that navigate the emotional terrain of emerging adulthood — from internal conflict to moral crossroads —proving that home is what we dream it to be.

https://www.benjamincousins.com​

Thelonious Monk Bremen 1965 In 1965 it was with Charlie Rouse, Larry Gales and Ben Riley that Monk embarked on his largest tour to date. After two days in Paris, the ensemble performed in Bremen, Germany on Monday, March 8th. AVAILABLE ON DECEMBER 12 (2LP VINYL 180 g / 2CD DIGIPAK / DIGITAL)

Art Edmaiston and Steve Hirsh The Back Nine A spirited improvised set of duets recorded in Midtown Memphis TN at a secret location featuring deep listening and heart-fire interaction. Peaceful and Playful, Thoughtful and Carefree... A reflection on how far both men have traveled and where they are at this moment in time. Art Edmaiston - Tenor/Soprano Saxophones, Bells, Shakers, Percussion Steve Hirsh - Drums and Cymbals, Percussion Recorded by Matthew Wilson  Mixed by Jim Clouse, Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY

https://artedmaiston.bandcamp.com/album/the-back-9​

Lunch Break Tom Teasley Lunch Break thrives on morphing textures and surprising hybridizations … Ballou dances frenetically over Teasley’s inventive percussion...packs a strong punch and underscore Teasley’s and his collaborators’ musical fearlessness.” Alexa Peters - Downbeat “Ballou’s trumpet skirts and dashes around Teasley’s crafty rhythm beds with the deftness of a dancer prowling the stage.” - All About Jazz - Geno Thackara

https://tomteasleymusic.bandcamp.com​

Art Pepper Geneva 1980 At the time of this recording in 1980, Art Pepper had been a mainstay in the world of jazz for nearly four decades. Starting out as a young player in his teens, he accompanied acclaimed artists Benny Carter and Stan Kenton. From there, his collaborators read like a who’s who list of 20th century greats. His solo career, however, was legendary. It’s impossible to talk jazz saxophone without the name Art Pepper in the mix. Through his life, troubled as it may have been, one thing was always a constant—his music. As evidenced by 2023’s acclaimed The Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings, a 7-CD testament to his effortless playing recorded months before his passing, Art Pepper never disappointed, instead, he thrilled and beguiled audiences around the world. Geneva 1980 collects 10 performances recorded July 5, 1980 at the New Morning in Geneva, Switzerland. Backing Art on alto saxophone were Milcho Leviev on piano, Tony Dumas on bass, and Carl Burnett on drums. A set of almost all originals left the crowd astounded.

https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/geneva-1980/​

Jung Stratamann Quartet’s upcoming album Confluence continues the Jung’s and Stratmann’s nature-inspired writing style, but also reaches out further to their musical influences. A heartfelt interplay of not only international and generation-spanning, but also genre-transcending personnel flows together in an evocative composition of four expressive entities, embracing the unifying spirit of jazz music and setting an example of what “passing the torch” can look like.​  ​

https://jungstratmann.bandcamp.com/album/confluence​

Urs Leimgruber AIR Vol 3 With AIR  saxophonist Urs Leimgruber  continues his deep exploration of sound and silence. Recorded at The Space in Lucerne, this volume captures spontaneous encounters between musicians through instant composing. The saxophone becomes breath, breath becomes sound — revealing music at its most essential and alive.​​

https://www.creativeworksrecords.com/shop/air-vol-3/

Roberto Magris / Lovely Day(s) After a career spanning more than four decades with concerts around the world and 40 albums to his credit, Roberto Magris presents “Lovely Day(s)”, his first album of solo piano performances. “A dazzling display of virtuosity and imagination… architectonic narratives that make you forget you’re listening to “only” one musician… A reviewer once called Magris “One of the finest piano players on the planet”, and there’s plenty here to support that claim. – Neil Tesser”  Available at www.jmoodrecords.com and jmoodrecords.bandcamp.com​

https://jmoodrecords.com/lovely-day-s-roberto-magris-jm-025​

The Alpine Session Arbenz vs Arbenz Meets Ron Carter Out Now Vinyl, Stream, CD In Association with JazzFuel PF​

http://www.florianarbenz.bandcamp.com​

Dusk and Dawn Rich Halley Four Dusk and Dawn is the new recording by Rich Halley, featuring his long standing quartet with trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Carson Halley. Recorded in Portland in November 2023, Dusk and Dawn is the seventh release by the Rich Halley 4, and features a combination of Halley compositions and spontaneous improvisations that showcase the depth and unique interaction of the group.​

https://richhalley.bandcamp.com/album/dusk-and-dawn

Antonio Adolfo Carnaval Carnaval (Carnival) is also an old tradition in Brazil, where the festivities are very popular and become more “spectacular” each year. Despite the evolution of this jubilee, the songs created for the event have lost their beauty each passing year, or even disappeared.  The “golden age” of Carnaval songs corresponds to the period between the beginning of the last century, mainly between the 1920s and 1950s, with its beautiful songs, many of which were exposed through musical competitions, where the most beautiful songs were chosen. As such, some of them have become great classics of Brazilian music.​​

https://antonioadolfomusic.com/new-album/​

Irving Flores Armando Mi Conga Irving Flores’ newest work, Armando Mi Conga, is a celebration of Afro-Cuban jazz recorded live in New York with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians. The album features Giovanni Hidalgo (congas), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Horacio “El Negro” Hernández (drums), John Benitez (upright & electric bass), and Norbert Stachel (tenor/baritone sax, clarinet, flute). Together with Irving’s compositions, the result is a powerful, vibrant, and soulful addition to the global jazz landscape.​

https://irvingflores.com

Louis Rosen American Sunset "American Sunset" is a personal response to the political chaos that America finds itself in, a work very much from, about and for this moment in time, and a work that, judging from the initial response, seems to be striking a significant chord with people.  Streaming Links https://music.apple.com/us/album/american-sunset/1846186165 https://music.amazon.in/albums/B0FW5DSV79 https://open.spotify.com/album/3cuVXUQcNIBG3GTWawBGpk?si=LuCKMwa3Q-S5Zer25KFvQA https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=louis+rosen+american+sunset​

Bruce Gertz

Octopus Dreams

https://www.brucegertz.com

Yunmi Kang & John Stowell   A Timeless Place Recorded in Seoul, A Timeless Place brings together Korean vocalist Yunmi Kang and American guitarist John Stowell in an intimate duo setting. Through seven reimagined jazz standards and Norma Winstone’s “A Timeless Place,” the album explores sound as conversation — open, spacious, and deeply human. As Cadence Magazine (USA) wrote, “Yunmi and John’s performance takes us into an entirely different realm of expression—bending time, breaking away from it, painting sound in color and texture. With his unconventional chord voicings and rhythmic freedom, John shapes the flow, while Yunmi colors each note with stunning phrasing and sensitivity.” Kang, known for her clear tone and instinctive phrasing, moves freely between melody and silence, while Stowell’s harmonic colors and rhythmic awareness create a landscape that feels both grounded and free. Their collaboration is quiet yet full of energy, expressing the essence of jazz as listening, trust, and presence in the moment. Available on all major digital platforms.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4OFMQmRimIcdxLINnr7KcA?si=-KdMo73NTZu92CTD0g_KBg​​

ALISTER SPENCE TRIO Gather ‘This is a great pianist at the peak of his powers – an amazing album that richly repays repeated listening.’ Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal It’s been seven years since our last Alister Spence Trio release Not Everything but Enough. There is something very special about the connection and interplay Lloyd, Toby, and I enjoy as a trio. This has built up gradually over our almost-thirty-year history of performing together. We are delighted with this album and hope you enjoy Gather! Alister Spence - piano, samples Lloyd Swanton - double bass Toby Hall - drums, glockenspiel​

https://alisterspence.bandcamp.com/album/gather

Roland Kirk Quartet Domino – Live At Radio Bremen TV-Studios 1963 On November 15 and 16, 1963, American saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk and his quartet gave a small concert in the TV studios of Radio Bremen. The concert was broadcast on ARD in the spring of 1964 as part of the popular “Domino” series. Now the original tapes have resurfaced in the station’s archives. Sensational! The former sideman of Charles Mingus, Gil Evans and Quincy Jones had come to Germany not only with his successful Mercury albums “Domino” and “We Free Kings” in his luggage, but also with a great accompanying combo: Swiss pianist George Gruntz, known for his work with Klaus Doldinger, Louis Armstrong and Don Cherry, shone with his sensitive playing. French bassist Guy Pedersen (who has played with Baden Powell, Michel Legrand and Quincy Jones, among others) and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair (who has played with Joachim Kühn and Jean Luc Ponty, among others) provided the rhythm.​

https://www.mig-music.de/en/releases/kirk-roland-quartet-2/

Mike Pachelli High Standards World-class guitarist Mike Pachelli releases an album with Tony Levin & Danny Gottlieb. While recently on the road with Tony Levin, Phil Keaggy and Jerry Marotta, Mike and Tony would jam on some jazz standards.  In the green room at a concert in Pennsylvania, Mike asked Tony if he might consider playing on one song for his next album. Tony replied, "one song? Let's do an entire album!"  Tony said he was soon going on tour with King Crimson so "we should get right on it!"  Mike invited his good friend Danny Gottlieb into his studio and a few sessions later they completed "High Standards."

http://www.MikePachelli.com​