Mondo Jazz

A playlist in which Brazilian Forró meets New Orleans Funk, Brazilian Choro meets Portugues Fado, and the infinite possibilities of creative jazz bring tons of surprises. The playlist features Nation Beat; Hamilton de Holanda, Gonzalo Rubalcaba; April Varner [pictured]; Tomeka Reid; Shiver, Matthew Bourne; Ryan McIntosh Ryan. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19310530/Mondo-Jazz (f...

This time around we start with a rendition of "Portrait of Jennie" with strings followed by a portrait by a string player named Jenny… a portrait of Ornette Coleman by violinist Jenny Scheinman to be precise. That's followed by tributes to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Steve Lacy and Hariprasad Chaurasia, as well as a love letter to NYC. The playlist features Franco Ambrosetti; Jenny Scheinman; Lux Quart...

A playlist about connections lost and found, family connections, artistic connections, connections with musical heroes, and with former band-mates through archival recordings that announce much anticipated reunions... Is this a bit too cryptic? Play this episode of Mondo Jazz and find out more! The playlist features Bria Skonberg; Giovanni Falzone, Orchestra Nazionale Jazz Giovani Talenti; Jihye L...

The return of the Staples Jr. Singers, almost half a century after their debut, followed by the first album of Summer Camargo; the duet of drummer Emil de Waal with saxophonist Cecilie Strange followed Get the Blessing featuring Portishead's bassist and drummer; and then an unearthed gem recorded 20 years ago by Tomasz Stanko followed Sebastien Ammann socio-environmental manifesto should give you...

The extended sonic explorations of Enrico Rava and Jake Long, and the otherwordly sonic alchemy of Deron Johnson & Sam Gendel, with the support of producer and engineer Pete Min, Andrew Bird and Star Rover make for a compelling set that should engage both your brain and your heart. The playlist features Star Rover; Deron Johnson, Sam Gendel; Andrew Bird; Enrico Rava; and Jake Long. Detailed playli...

This time around our special focus is Paolo Fresu who is celebrating 40 years of activity with his historic Quartet, 20 years with his electric Devil Quartet, and 22 years with pianist Uri Caine. To mark these three anniversaries he has released a gorgeous triple album entitled "LEGACY" (and the limited edition companion triple LP "(next) LEGACY"). This episode's playlist also includes the latest...

A playlist focusing on leading cello cello players of today's creative scene -- Erik Friedlander, Hank Roberts (through his duo with trombonist Filippo Vignato) and Janel Leppin [pictured] and her Ensemble Volcanic Ash -- and the psychedelic cinematic atmospheres of Boris Boublil, the Hermanos Gutiérrez and the Sandman Project. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19249654/Mondo-Jazz...

If you want to make the case of jazz as a musical esperanto spoken all around the world, in countless accents, the music on this week's playlist should offer you with some great sounding evidence! The playlist features Amy Gadiaga [pictured]; Ayumi Ishito; Lakecia Benjamin; Linda Sikhakhane; and Tommaso Cappellato. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19249654/Mondo-Jazz [from "Full S...

Enjoy an edition of Mondo Jazz, focusing on tributes to Bud Powell, Chick Corea, Bob Berg and Italian pop icon Pino Daniele, plus the gorgeous new albums by Black Diamond, Oded Tzur and Harry Skoler. The playlist features Fabrizio Bosso [pictured], Julian Oliver Mazzariello; Gianfranco Menzella; Monday Orchestra, Luca Missiti; Dal Sasso Big Band; Black Diamond; Oded Tzur; and Harry Skoler. Detaile...

For the past couple of weeks we have been sharing some of our favorite songs from the first six months of the year. We have reached the final installment, so enjoy the rest of the best. In six months, we’ll do this all over again! The playlist features The Jazz Defenders; Ivanna Cuesta; Alon Farber & Hagiga; Layale Chaker [pictured]; Julieta Eugenio; Roxana Amed; Charles Lloyd; and Dave Douglas. D...

Last week we started looking back at albums released this year that we have been fascinated by. From these albums we have been cherry picking the songs that struck us the most. Enjoy the fifth installment. The playlist features Haroldo Bontempo; Cassie Kinoshi; Abdullah Ibrahim; Stephan Crump; Phillip Golub; Riley Mulherkar [pictured]; Mikael Máni; and Jamie Baum. Detailed playlist at https://spin...

You know how rewarding it can be to approach a menu leaving the most delicious treats for last? Well that is how we like to approach our daily search for new music, selecting great tunes for our weekly programming, but saving for later the very best of them, so that twice a year we can organize retrospective on the best of the best. Here are some of these delicious sonic treats. The playlist featu...

Welcome to the third part of our retrospective on some of the tunes we have loved the most in the first half of the year. We hope you do too! The playlist features Jukka Eskola, Timo Lassy; Ben Allison, Steve Cardenas, Ted Nash; The Choir Invisible [pictured]: Charlotte Greve, Vinnie Sperrazza, Chris Tordini; Vinícius Cantuária; Church Chords; Vijay Iyer; John Surman; Simona Severini, Daniele Rich...

Here is an edition of Mondo Jazz dedicated to the cream of the crop among the songs we have had the pleasure of listening to this year, so far! The playlist features Simon Spiess [pictured]; Oan Kim; Otis Sandsjö; Sean Ono Lennon; The Messthetics, James Brandon Lewis; Bill Laurance, The Untold Orchestra; Melissa Aldana; and The Beat Freaks feat. Ralph Alessi Detailed playlist at https://spinitron....

It’s July already! And so here is the first installment of Mondo Jazz in which we start sharing some of our favorite tunes from the first six months of a 2024 that has been quite generous with jazz fans! The playlist features Joe Webb; Amaro Freitas, Jeff Parker; Black Lives; Émile Parisien; Trish Clowes, Ross Stanley; Brad Mehldau; Vincent Courtois, Ryan Keberle, Frank Woeste; and Ches Smith. Det...

Taylor Eigsti opens the set with his exciting new album, and then a focus on large and medium ensembles from New York and New Orleans. The playlist features Taylor Eigsti; Mike Holober; Christopher Zuar; Byron Asher; New Orleans Klezmer All Stars. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19158303/Mondo-Jazz [from "Happy Feet" to "Loss of Love" ]. Happy listening!

A compelling playlist thanks to two generations of drummers who get themselves in very good trouble addressing politics, the environment, and our cultural past, plenty of strings, and young talents. The playlist features Matt Wilson; Ivanna Cuesta; Phillip Golub; 9 Horses; Ryan Truesdell; Tony Moreno. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19158303/Mondo-Jazz [from "Happy Feet" to "Loss...

Guitar/bass/drum trios for the win, the endless relevance of Max Roach, Abdul Wadud and Morphine, and more in six remarkable albums! The playlist features The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis; Morphine; The Early Planets; Álvaro Torres; Joy Guidry; and Tom Skinner. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19158303/Mondo-Jazz [up to "The Journey"]. Happy listening!

Dynamic elegance may be the trait that the albums featured in this set have in common, so we hope you'll be elegantly surprised! Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19127036/Mondo-Jazz [from "The Long Haul" onward]. Happy listening! Photo credit: Omar Cruz

"Two" is the thread running through this episode of Mondo Jazz, two albums of rare depth by Stephen Crump, two members of the Koppel family, two remarkable musicians at the center of the new LA scene, Josh Johnson and Julien Knowles, and two trumpeter player to keep an eye, and ear, on: Knowles and Tomasz Dabrowski. A set that is pairful and suspensful! Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/R...

Four musicians, Jacky Terrasson; Etienne Charles; Brent Birckhead; Isaiah Collier, and their individual takes on how to both celebrate the canon and innovate it. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/19127036/Mondo-Jazz [up to "Duality Suite"]. Happy listening!

In our final look into the basketball & jazz interconnectedness, we focus on several jazz, or funk-jazz soundtracks for movies dedicated to the game, on jazz musicians with a basketball career, like Cab Calloway and Wayman Tisdale, a composition inspired by the elegant and creative crossover dribble known as the Shammgod, and more! The playlist also features The Leonhart Brass Band [Michael Leonha...

As we have been exploring the connections between jazz and basketball, in this set we focus on compositions inspired by iconic athletes like LeBron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Michael Jordan, George Gervin, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. At the top of the set a collaboration between Quincy Jones and Shaquille O'Neal [pictured]. The playlist features Quincy Jones, Shaquille O'Neal [pictured]; Mads...

This time we felt like exploring the interplay of basketball and jazz, focusing in particular on a great jazz advocate like Kareem Abdul Jabbar [pictured], on the soundtrack of the HBO series "The Winning Time", on an oneiric game played with a basketball fish, and on Stanley Clarke's tribute to this sport, to which he devoted as many hours as he did to the study of the bass, while growing up in P...

This time we focus on the unique voice of Lizz Wright, and the distinctive instrumental voices of Charles Lloyd, Matthieu Bordenave, Greg Osby, Nicole Glover and Jon Gordon, in a set that brings together soul, M-Base and ECM echoes, and the legacy of Seventh Avenue South, the iconic jazz club run by the Brecker Brothers in Greenwich Village. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/190339...