New Releases From: Houston Person & Ron Carter, Nicole Mitchell and Alex Conde

Houston Person & Ron Carter – Remember Love

Tenorist Houston Person and bassist Ron Carters started their 60s careers in very different parts of the jazz spectrum – but over the years, they've found a way to work together wonderfully – in a mode that's created some especially great duo albums like this! There's few folks who could get so much out of just the mix of bass and tenor saxophone – especially without going into any sort of avant or free jazz modes – and the pairing of Person and Carter hardly makes us miss piano, drums, or any other instrumentation – as their sense of rhythm and expression is fully formed throughout. As you might guess from the title, most tunes are ballads – and titles include "Without A Song", "Easy To Remember", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Day Dream", "Gentle Rain", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Blues For DP".  ~ Dusty Groove

Nicole Mitchell – Maroon Cloud

Incredibly beautiful work from Nicole Mitchell – and a record that's maybe unlike anything we've ever heard from her before! The group's a quartet, and Mitchell plays flute in the lead – but the session also features Fay Victor on vocals, who has this magnificently dynamic style – moody one minute, very pointedly powerful the next – working with lyrics from Nicole that are a complete surprise to our ears! Victor's approach moves through a history of jazz vocal expression that recalls, at moments, the work of Honey Gordon with Charles Mingus, or some of Jeanne Lee's work with Ran Blake, and maybe even some of the more adventurous moments of Abbey Lincoln – given support alongside Mitchell's flute by the piano of Aruan Ortiz and cello of Tomeka Reid. Given Mitchell's already-strong legacy of recordings, this set is just another feather in her already-huge cap – on titles that include "Vodou Spacetime Kettle", "Warm Dark Realness", "No One Can Stop Us", "Endurance", "Hidden Choice", "A Sound", and "Constellation Symphony". ~ Dusty Groove

Alex Conde – Origins

Pianist Alex Conde always has a great way of blending jazz performance with Latin rhythms – and that approach really takes off here, as Conde's core combo gets fantastic frontline help from Brian Lynch on trumpet, Conrad Herwig on trombone, and Dayna Stephens on tenor and soprano sax! Both Lynch and Herwig are no strangers to sounds like this – and they really shine when called upon – soaring out to give the music this great sense of color and energy – which is really saying a lot, given Conde's already-strong work with the bass, drums, and cajon in the rhythms. A few moments feature guest vocals – from Alejandro Conde Sr and Ismael Fernandez – and titles include "The Great Priest", "Jungle Street", "Spring Break", "Upper West Side", "Bulerijazz", "Descarga Por Bulerias", and "El Emigrante". ~ Dusty Groove