Mondo Jazz

This week's edition revolves around tributes to composers, singers, songwriters, cities and... earworms! And a fascinating project by Brooklyn-based Dutch singer Vivienne Aerts celebrating jazz women and female pioneers of the cacao trade.  The playlist also features Yazz Ahmed [pictured]; Kansas Smitty's; Snarky Puppy; Luigi Viva, Luigi Masciari; Brad Mehldau; Chilly Gonzales; Fabrizio Bosso; Fab...

Bands of great improvisational genius, two takes on early-Bill Frisell compositions, an album revisiting the legacy of First House, two productions by the David Breskin-Ron Saint Germain dream team, and much more in this edition of Mondo Jazz. The playlist features Billy Mohler [pictured]; Dan Weiss; Patricia Brennan; Ken Stubbs; Unscientific Italians; Bill Frisell; Frank Woeste, Ryan Keberle, Vin...

As we are quickly approaching the end of the year, here is another edition focusing on new and upcoming albums featuring some the records will inevitably end on many best of the year lists. The playlist features Stephanie Lottermoser; Franco Ambrosetti; Monica Nica Agosti; Mali Obomsawin; Tim Berne, Matt Mitchell; Géraud Portal; Jean-Paul Estiévenart, Marcel Ponseele & Il Gardellino; Hilario Durán...

The spirit of the masters, the roots of each music tradition, are like ghosts that accompany a musician’s creative process, with more or less awareness based on the musician’s disposition, a premise directly explored by Michael Wollny in his latest album, and indirectly explored by every other musician featured on this show, which spotlights Annette Peacock, both a musician ahead of her times and...

Tributes to Abdul Wadud, Paul Motian, Albert Mangelsdorff and Johnny Hodges, the power of post-production, the music meditations of Surya Botofasina and more, in this wide-ranging edition of Mondo Jazz. The playlist features Tom Skinner; Chelsea Carmichael, Shabaka Hutchings; Petter Eldh, Savannah Harris; Esbjörn Svensson; Jakob Bro, Joe Lovano; Brûlez Les Meubles; Owen Broder; Agnas, Ståhl, Flate...

Tons of new releases ahoy... We feature some that bring unbridled energy, with a focus on South Korean and North European artists, and a tribute to the French master of humor, erotism, subversion and wordplay, Serge Gainsbourg. The playlist features Donny McCaslin; Avram Fefer; Matthew Halsall; Sun-Mi Hong; Marilyn Mazur; Song Yi Jeon, Vinícius Gomes; Mikkel Ploug; Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Camille...

Plato, Mingus and Seinfeld? What could they possibly have in common? Not much; or a lot…; depending on the plasticity of your mind. You'll get the answer if you listen to this edition of Mondo Jazz, digging forward and back with a precious new compilation showcasing the Detroit Artists Workshop. The playlist features Timothy Norton; Dezron Douglas; Abel Mireles; Nadje Noordhuis; Lyman Woodard; Kir...

This week a catchy and eclectic playlist, which straddles across many stylistic lines and influences, opens in the spirit of Zappa and ends with Zappa himself and yet another gem recently uneearthed from his bottomless vault.  The playlist features Fred Pallem; Flat Earth Society Orchestra; Gaia Mattiuzzi; Wojtek Mazolewski; Yosef Gutman; Jussi Reijonen; Arild Andersen; Ari Joshua, Billy Martin, J...

In this set we focus on Hammond jazz, brass-heavy projects, North-European bands and a series of albums that have John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Wayne Shorter and Terri Lyne Carrington as common threads. The playlist also features Jupiter; Michael Blake; Trio Grande; Fredrik Lundin & Odense Jazz Orchestra; Marco Pacassoni, Antonio Sanchez; Dave Stryker; Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Chris McBride; Le...

We are back after a brief hiatus, during which new and upcoming albums have been piling up on our desk, so let's get right to it... We start here with a batch of genre-defying projects focusing in particular on adventurous vocalists that blend acoustic and electronic music, or that bring different music cultures together. We end with two invigorating projects that bring together improvisation and...

Inspired by Leo Sidran's latest single, "There Was a Fire", this week we look into various threads of memory--making (or memory--keeping) that can be found in projects that bring together various cultulal traditions (West-African or Cuban, Mitteleuropean or Japanese), bring new light to old repertoires, pay tribute to earlier composers or music-genres. The playlist features Eve Risser; chuffDRONE;...

Unbridled fun, the long tail of Hal Willner's work, an all-star band that celebrates 40 years of the Jazz sous les pommiers Festival, and jazz inspired by Maurice Ravel, soul, funk, gospel blues and folk are at the heart of this week's edition of Mondo Jazz. The playlist features The New Mastersounds; The Harlem Gospel Travelers; Doug Wamble; Beth Orton [pictured]; Robin Holcomb; Bill Frisell; Fra...

This is the second part of an edition of Mondo Jazz which explores the repertoire built over the years by countless women composers, which are in part included in "New Standards", the collection of 101 compositions by women composers curated by Terri Lyne Carrington for Berklee Press, and in part we hope they will be included in a near future. For our selection we focus on instrumental tunes by mu...

In the wake of the recent publication of "New Standards", the collection of 101 compositions by women composers curated by Terri Lyne Carrington for Berklee Press, this week we feature some of the compositions featured in the new book, and a few more that we hope may appear in a future expanded edition. The playlist features Jaimie Branch [pictured]; Jenny Scheinman; Dinosaur; Bria Skonberg; Rita...

A playlist that focuses on fascinating new releases and a preview of great upcoming concerts in New York. The playlist features Jeff Denson, Brian Blade, Romain Pilon; Patricia Brennan; Hermon Mehari; Eric Vloeimans, Will Holshouser; the Michael Leonhart Orchestra; Sky Creature; Enrico Rava, Fred Hersch; Omar Sosa; Cheick Tidiane Seck [pictured]. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/1...

Music by, or inspired by, Brazil, Charles Mingus, Mal Waldron, Humanity... and the Convulsionaries... To know more... click on the embedded player and happy listening! The playlist features also Anat Cohen [pictured]; Roberto Ottaviano, Alexander Hawkins; Cristina Mazza, Sean Bergin Daniele D'Agaro Bruno Marini Jean-Jacques Avenel Sangoma Everett; Angelica Sanchez; Matt Ulery, Zach Brock; Jasper H...

September offers an opportunity to refocus on our inner energies and start a new cycle with renewed awareness and intentions – basically back to school and beyond… This segment of the show features more songs inspired by this month, with a special focus on five masterpieces that were recorded during a magical couple of weeks in September 1962. The playlist features Johnnie Taylor; Dakota Staton; P...

September is a rather auspicious month musically, as you will hear through a playlist of songs inspired by September... or by things associated with the month of September... or featuring musicians born in September. The playlist features James Brown; Freda Payne; Itai Kriss; Earth, Wind & Fire; Chris Pattishall; Don Grolnick; Les McCann, Eddie Harris; Ingebrigt Håker Flaten; Fiona Apple; and Dave...

It’s hard to believe but August is already over, and just like the months keep getting by at the speed of light so do new CDs and LPs… And this is why we are here with another edition of Mondo Jazz for which we have cherry-picked some of the best new albums and singles out there. The playlist features Stéphane Kerecki; Tom Harrell; Clemens Kuratle; Ernesto Jodos; John Escreet; Kristin Berardi [pic...

Tributes to Miles and Mingus, Camille Bertault, Theo Croker, and the German label ACT Music are some of the threads of this playlist, which also features one of the most surprising albums of the year... but you have to listen to find out what that is... The playlist also features Chris Dave; Mitglieder der Berliner Philharmoniker, Magnus Lindgren; Ethan Philion; David Helbock; Oan Kim; Erik Friedl...

One of the traits that we love most in jazz is its ability to promote encounters and mixtures… and mixtures is what this set is all about. The playlist features Leyla McCalla [pictured]; Lyle Lovett; Antares Flare; Elvin Bironien; Marco Bardoscia, Paolo Fresu, Dino Rubino, Daniele di Bonaventura; Samuel Mösching, Isaiah Collier; Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Darek Oles; Alan Broadbent; Roberta Piket...

Here we go again, finding a path of beauty through countless new and upcoming albums, and sharing the most memorable moments of this journey with you. As usual, we like the path less travelled, and so we hope that you’ll enjoy the surprises that we find along the way... The playlist features Flash Pig; Jeremy Rose [pictured], The Earshift Orchestra; CKRAFT; Caleb Wheeler Curtis; Steven Bernstein;...

Another set dedicated to new and upcoming releases, with a special focus on recent Hammond Organ Trios and Quartets; jazz from, or inspired by, Africa and the Antilles; a tribute to 40 years of the French festival Jazz à Vienne; plus the savory “free-range sonic stew" served by Jessica Pavone [pictured], Lukas Koenig, Matt Mottel. The playlist also features Jack McDuff; Matthieu Marthouret; Wil Bl...

Going through hundreds of new jazz albums is a trying job. But somebody’s got do it. And we do it so you don’t have to. So please sit back, relax and enjoy some the most delicious bites of the gargantuan meal that artists and labels have been cooking out... The playlist features Laura Jurd; Quentin Ghomari; Jon Irabagon [pictured]; Miguel Zenón; Gustavo Cortiñas; Spanish Harlem Orchestra; Seamus B...

The life affirming power of the human voice, from the modern spirituality of Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation to the irreverence crazy eclecticism of André Minvielle [pictured], or the haunting elegance of Piers Faccini with Simone Prattico, opens a wide ranging set which is then closed with another tribute to Frank Kimbrough. The playlist also features Babx, Thomas De Pourqueray; Papanosh; Bashe...