Hargrove

This is a wonderful overview of pianist composer arranger John Beasley's work on the Resonance label drawn from the albums Letter to Herbie and Positootly! Beasley is joined by among others Christian McBride, the late Roy Hargrove, Bennie Maupin, Jeff ‘Tain” Watts and Brian Lynch. There's a great imagination at work here and Beasley manages to capture a sense of the jazz past while maintaining a steady gaze on producing a sound that relates to the jazz of today. The arranging is beautifully executed and familiar favourites such as 'Dindi' sound new. If you are unfamiliar with Beasley this is the perfect compilation to jump up to speed.

Hear & Now: The Best of John Beasley on Resonance features 15 tracks from acclaimed pianists two albums on the label, Letter to Herbie and Positootly!, which feature all stars Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Jeff ‘Tain” Watts, Brian Lynch and others.

A two-time GRAMMY Award winner, bassist, producer, composer, and all-around musician Marcus Miller has been a student and a leader, a creator and an interpreter, a master and a mentor in the art form of music - from his teen years to the present - with many more miles to go before he sleeps…a profound past paving the way to an as yet unfathomable future. Marcus continues this legacy with A Night in Monte-Carlo, a live audio document of an amazing concert he was commissioned to perform on November 29, 2008 in the "rich man's playground" of Monaco - a performance of music of his choice, much of it from his pen, featuring his arrangements for symphony orchestra. It features Marcus leading both his quartet and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, with special guests: trumpeter Roy Hargrove as well as singer, songwriter and guitarist Raul Midón.

A superb, mostly self-taught musician, Jimmy Cobb is the elder statesman of all the incredible Miles Davis bands. Cobb's inspirational work with Miles, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly and Co. spanned 1957 until 1963 and included the masterpiece Kind of Blue, the most popular jazz recording in history. On this new Chesky Records recording, Jazz In the Key of Blue, Jimmy Cobb pairs up once again with 36-year old, Grammy Award winning trumpeter, Roy Hargrove. who has firmly established him-self as among the premier players in jazz and beyond. Jazz In the Key of Blue continues to prove Jimmy Cobb's mettle as a band leader, his imperturbable, rock-steady swing, paving the way for the rhythms and sounds of yet another generation of jazzmen.

What a totally delightful laid-back jazz quartet outing! No free jazz, no unwhistlable tunes, no overpowering drums (in spite of Cobb being the leader) – just ten mostly ballads, played in a super-relaxed fashion and reproduced with a realism in hi-res surround that fulfills the label’s slogan of “You can hear the difference”.