Jim Gillette Vocal Power

Jazz albums chronicle the lives of the artists who make them, but they also stand as emblems of a time period. When alto saxophonist Jim Snidero recorded Live at the Deer Head Inn in 2020 - an outing that earned 5 stars from DownBeat for its "spellbinding … incredible prowess and tender musicality throughout" - he connected to listeners and bandmates alike in a time of social distancing and brought them emotionally near, through the healing power of live music. To recall a comparable time of societal rupture, one thinks back to 9/11, on the very morning that Snidero and his colleagues were heading to Systems Two Studios in Brooklyn to record the album that became Strings (released by Milestone in 2003).

The ever-elusive Americana maverick Jim White returns with his most upbeat, hallucinogenic record to date.

The four-disc box set Dear Mr. Fantasy digs deep into Jim Capaldi’s legacy, providing a thorough overview of the musician best known as Steve Winwood’s sparring partner in Traffic. Appropriately, there is a hefty chunk of Traffic here along with a good sampling of his solo albums, plus a fair number of rarities ranging from his first group the Hellions to the pre-Traffic bands Revolution and Deep Feeling and a previously unreleased collaboration with George Harrison called “Love’s Got a Hold of Me.” It’s a generous set that will satisfy the devoted while providing several surprises to those who have looked no deeper than Traffic but were always curious about what else Capaldi had to offer.

Following the success of Jim Ed Brown's biggest solo hit, "Morning," in 1970, he entered the Top 15 again a few months later with "Angel's Sunday," which brandishes a surprising vocal rhythm as a hook. Brown's albums are usually good, but Angel's Sunday is a little better than average thanks to the strong material and predominantly female background vocals, which re-create in spots the sound of his former trio, the Browns…