NEW RELEASES - PHIL WOODS & THE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, CARLA BEY / ANDY SHEPPARD / STEVE SWALLOW, WILL PRESTON

PHIL WOODS & THE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA - NEW CELEBRATION

Phil Woods' New Celebration is the long-awaited follow-up to his 1997 Grammy® Award-nominated release Celebration, and features many of the same players, along with a number of other world-class musicians from Woods' Poconos home region comprising the 18-piece Festival Orchestra. All but two of the compositions - Johnny Mandel's "Here's to Alvy" and Al Cohn's arrangement of Raye & de Paul's gorgeous "You Don't Know What Love Is" (featuring vocalist Najwa Parkins) - were specially written and arranged by Woods for this recording, which was done in April of 2012. Woods' extraordinary writing creates an ideal setting for his solo virtuosity, as well as some excellent contributions by other members of the orchestra. But more than being a launching pad for solos, the arrangements display a mastery of context that makes each piece a fully conceived and compelling musical story. Woods' longtime friend Quincy Jones contributes liner notes for the CD, Woods' second album as a leader on Chiaroscuro.

CARLA BEY / ANDY SHEPPARD / STEVE SWALLOW - TRIOS

Sublime trio recordings from Carla Bley on piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and Andy Sheppard on tenor and soprano sax – musicians who've been working together in different ways for many years, and who really come together here in a very special way! Although all three players were once known to enforce the more modern sides of their identities, that tendency seems left behind and replaced by a more confident maturity – one that still allows for knowledge of all the dark corners and sharp edges of sound, but worked out into a mode that's beautifully lyrical, poetic, and surprisingly rich in feeling. There's nothing cold or academic about the set at all – and although the presentation is definitely in an ECM mode, there's this sense of deeper heart that recalls some of the recordings that Swallow made with Jimmy Giuffre decades back – or even Giuffre's trio before Swallow joined in. Sheppard is wonderfully expressive – very vivid in his solos – and Bley's doing so much with so little, her sense of tone and texture are mindblowing. Titles include "Vashkar", "Utviklingssang", "The Girl Who Cried Champagne", and "Wildlife".  ~ Dusty Groove

WILL PRESTON - #REACQUAINTED

We're getting reacquainted with the music of Will Preston all over again – thanks to this sweet little set and its really fresh sound! Will's vocals are very much at the level of his previous two sets – but the groove here is even greater, and bristles with lots of nice crackle right from the outset – a renewed sort of energy that sets the record on fire right from the start, then keeps things burning with a steady flame that really works great for Preston's vocals. Will sings with a sense of personality that keeps the set far from any overdone cliches – and there's an upfront feel to the whole record that we really love. Titles include "Bring Back The Days", "I Gave My All", "Emotions In It", "Falling In Love", "My Book", "Painful Times", and "Candy Coated Raindrops". ~  Dusty Groove