Bobby Watson Love Remains

Altoist Bobby Watson has always been a consistent improviser whose roots are in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers but who is open to freer innovations. For this Red Records album, Watson is joined by pianist John Hicks, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith for five of his originals, one by his wife Pamela Watson and Curtis Lundy's "Sho Thang." With such titles as "The Mistery of Ebop," "Blues for Alto" and the title cut, the high-quality music is essentially advanced hard bop and gives Watson a good opportunity to stretch out on some challenging structures.

SAXOPHONIST/COMPOSER BOBBY WATSON DRAWS INSPIRATION from the rich jazz heritage of his Kansas City hometown on his spirited album Back Home in Kansas City. It features an all-star quintet with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Jones, with a guest appearance by singer Carmen Lundy.

Orrin Evans hits the ground running with "Faith in Action," his first date for Posi-Tone. Listeners are invited to kick back and dig the sounds as Evans bravely embarks on an interpretive exploration of the music of his friend and mentor Bobby Watson. This trio date features the solid harmonic foundation of bassist Luques Curtis and the bombastically explosive metrics of drummer Nasheet Waits. Many jazz fans may already be familiar with Orrin and his earlier work, but now it's all hands on deck as the piano trio steers steadily into the familiar landscapes of the straight ahead concept before heading out beyond into the uncharted depths of modern collective improvisation.

Michael Jackson had recorded solo prior to the release of Off the Wall in 1979, but this was his breakthrough, the album that established him as an artist of astonishing talent and a bright star in his own right. This was a visionary album, a record that found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable, but not the primary focus – it was part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk. Its roots hearken back to the Jacksons' huge mid-'70s hit "Dancing Machine," but this is an enormously fresh record, one that remains vibrant and giddily exciting years after its release. This is certainly due to Jackson's emergence as a blindingly gifted vocalist, equally skilled with overwrought ballads as "She's Out of My Life" as driving dancefloor shakers as "Working Day and Night" and "Get on the Floor".