Ted Nash – Rauschenberg In Jazz: Nine Details.

Transformation is the new recording by Grammy Award-winning musician and composer Ted Nash in partnership with Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Glenn Close. This star-studded, multidisciplinary masterwork explores the complex theme of transformation. Close curated the literary material and spoken word performances, adding her voice to selections with her signature gravitas and acuity. She draws from a wealth of experience; both her own and that of her courageous and fiercely talented guests. In co-imagining Transformation, Nash is the quintessential partner - his compositional prowess assimilates and morphs almost any concept into unforgettable music. The palpitating and melodically sweeping music of Transformation brings us to the heights of catharsis and accompanies us through the lowest reaches of the psyche with sounds both exhilarating and poignant. Nash embraces the full range of voices in the orchestra as well as the full spectrum of emotions they inspire. Special guests: Wayne Brady, Amy Irving, Matthew Stevenson, Eli Nash, Wynton Marsalis & Members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

The holiday season typically brings an expected harvest of albums. But, every once in a while, a seasonal release seeks to surprise, delight and refresh our love for the music of snow and celebration in a new way.

The Classical Jazz Quartet Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba, and Lewis Nash on drums seems to begin where the Modern Jazz Quartet of the 1950s left off, right down to the CJQ initials that seem to evoke memories of the earlier group. Bach was the staple of the classical-music treatments the MJQ released.