Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s Complete Duet Recordings Arrive in 7-LP Box S

Few partnerships in jazz history were as natural, entertaining and enduring as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Now, the complete body of music they recorded together is being collected in Cheek to Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings, a definitive seven-LP box set arriving November 6, 2026.

Bringing together 75 tracks and more than five hours of music, the collection documents the remarkable musical chemistry between two of the greatest singers in jazz. Their voices were dramatically different—Fitzgerald's extraordinary precision and improvisational agility contrasting with Armstrong's unmistakable gravelly warmth—yet together they created performances that remain among the most beloved vocal recordings in the jazz canon.

The set gathers everything the pair recorded together, from their Decca singles to the three classic Verve albums Ella and Louis, Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess. It also goes beyond the familiar albums, including live performances, alternate takes, false starts and other previously issued and rare material.

The chemistry between Fitzgerald and Armstrong was apparent from the beginning. On songs such as “Can’t We Be Friends?,” “Isn’t This a Lovely Day?,” “Moonlight in Vermont” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” the two singers turn the Great American Songbook into an intimate musical conversation.

Their interpretation of “Cheek to Cheek” gives the collection its title, but it is only one highlight among a remarkable run of standards. “A Foggy Day,” “Stars Fell on Alabama,” “The Nearness of You” and “April in Paris” demonstrate how naturally Fitzgerald and Armstrong could settle into a song and allow their personalities to become part of the arrangement.

Ella and Louis Again expands that chemistry across another group of standards, including “Don’t Be That Way,” “Makin’ Whoopee,” “They All Laughed,” “Autumn in New York,” “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “A Fine Romance” and “Love Is Here to Stay.”

There is an unmistakable sense of playfulness throughout these performances. Fitzgerald's ability to swing, scat and improvise meets Armstrong's relaxed phrasing and trademark personality, creating performances that can be simultaneously sophisticated, humorous and deeply musical.

The centerpiece of the collection is Porgy and Bess, their ambitious collaboration on George Gershwin's celebrated opera. Recorded in 1958 with the orchestra conducted and arranged by Russell Garcia, the album finds Fitzgerald and Armstrong inhabiting the roles of Bess and Porgy while tackling some of Gershwin's most enduring compositions.

The Porgy and Bess material occupies much of the fifth and sixth LPs, including “Summertime,” “I Wants to Stay Here,” “My Man’s Gone Now,” “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York.”

The box set also offers a fascinating glimpse behind the finished recordings. The final LP is devoted largely to alternate takes and studio material, including multiple versions of “Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess?,” different takes of “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Let’s Do It” and “Willow Weep for Me,” along with additional material from the Decca and Ella and Louis Again sessions.

The live recordings provide another perspective, featuring performances of “The Memphis Blues” from the Bing Crosby Chesterfield Show and “You Won’t Be Satisfied” and “Undecided” recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl.

Taken as a whole, Cheek to Cheek illustrates why the Fitzgerald-Armstrong partnership has remained so influential. Their recordings demonstrate the fundamentals of great jazz singing—swing, phrasing, improvisation, emotional expression and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to listen and respond to another musician.

Fitzgerald and Armstrong never sound as though they are simply taking turns singing. Their performances feel conversational, with each vocalist reacting to the other's timing, phrasing and personality. That sense of spontaneous interaction is a major part of what gives the recordings their enduring appeal.

The seven-LP set comes housed in a presentation featuring a 16-page book, photographs and reproductions of original cover art. The accompanying essay is by Grammy Award-winning author and director of research collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Ricky Riccardi.

For listeners who already know the classic Ella and Louis recordings, the collection provides the opportunity to hear the partnership in a much broader context, including live performances and studio material that reveal how these iconic sessions developed. For newcomers, it offers a comprehensive introduction to one of the most important vocal partnerships in jazz.

Cheek to Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings will be released November 6, 2026, as a seven-LP set containing 75 tracks and more than five hours of music. The set is priced at $149.98 and is limited to four copies per customer.

At its heart, this is a collection about musical conversation. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong brought different voices, different styles and different personalities to the microphone, but together they created a sound that has remained remarkably timeless.

Linda Sikhakhane Explores Purpose, Heritage and Belonging on LINDA

South African saxophonist and composer Linda Sikhakhane turns inward on LINDA, his self-titled fifth album and perhaps his most personal recording to date. Inspired by the search for life purpose, the album combines introspection with collaboration, drawing on South African jazz traditions while incorporating contemporary influences from hip-hop, Mzansi neo-soul and amapiano.

Born in Umlazi and a descendant of KwaNongoma, Sikhakhane approaches LINDA as both a personal and cultural exploration. His name becomes the starting point for a deeper examination of spirituality, community, relationships, heritage and the question of how an individual discovers his place within a larger collective.

The project was developed with the guidance of Sikhakhane's mentor and producer Nduduzo Makhathini, whose influence has been an important part of the saxophonist's musical development. Together, they help create a setting in which Sikhakhane can explore familiar South African musical language while pushing it into new territory.

The album's lead track, “Days Begin To Sing,” establishes that direction immediately. Released through Sikhakhane's artistic orbit under the banner of Omagugu, the track is an expansive expression of love, purpose and spiritual awakening. Rather than treating self-discovery as an isolated journey, Sikhakhane presents it as something that emerges through relationships and shared experience.

That idea continues on “Ilanga,” where rapper Zuluboy brings his lyrical perspective to the album's search for guidance and illumination. The combination of saxophone, jazz composition and contemporary South African hip-hop reinforces Sikhakhane's interest in bringing different musical worlds into conversation.

Family and lineage become central on “Uzalo,” featuring trumpeter Thabo Sikhakhane, Linda's younger brother. Their collaboration gives the album a particularly personal dimension, with the composition reflecting on ancestry and the transmission of knowledge and legacy from one generation to the next.

“Uzalo” is more than a family collaboration. It represents Sikhakhane's broader interest in continuity—how musical ideas, cultural traditions and personal histories are carried forward while being reshaped by each new generation.

Generational exchange takes another form on “Izibusiso,” featuring rising vocalist Ovuyonke on a composition by Makhathini. The track captures Sikhakhane's willingness to place emerging voices alongside established artists, creating another connection between past, present and future.

Throughout LINDA, Sikhakhane balances the foundational language of South African jazz with sounds associated with the country's contemporary urban culture. Hip-hop, neo-soul and amapiano become part of the album's vocabulary without displacing the jazz tradition at its core.

That balance is particularly important to Sikhakhane's artistic identity. Rather than viewing heritage and innovation as opposing forces, LINDA treats them as interconnected. The music looks back toward the South African jazz canon while simultaneously asking where that tradition can go next.

Sikhakhane's recognition as the 2022 Standard Bank Young Jazz Artist adds another dimension to an already developing career, but LINDA feels less concerned with achievement than with continued discovery. The album is built around questions of purpose, belonging and identity, with the answers emerging through the music itself.

The result is an album that treats self-discovery as a communal process. Sikhakhane's compositions are deeply personal, yet they continually open outward—to family, mentors, fellow musicians, cultural history and the generations that will follow.

With LINDA, Sikhakhane continues to carve out his own path within contemporary South African jazz. By engaging with the past, embracing the sounds of the present and remaining open to what comes next, he creates music that feels simultaneously rooted and forward-looking.

At its heart, LINDA is an exploration of what it means to compose not only music, but the self.

Joshua Redman Pays Tribute to Sonny Rollins on If Ever You Would Leave Us

Joshua Redman pays tribute to one of his greatest musical influences with If Ever You Would Leave Us (we play for Rollins), a deeply personal celebration of Sonny Rollins arriving November 20 on Blue Note Records.

Redman’s third Blue Note album brings together 11 selections from the vast Rollins repertoire, performed in a variety of configurations by an exceptional group of musicians. Among the participants are drummer Marcus Gilmore, bassists Christian McBride and Larry Grenadier, Rollins alumni Kevin Hays on piano and Peter Bernstein on guitar, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, and vocalists Cécile McLorin Salvant and Gabrielle Cavassa.

The album is introduced by “Grand Street,” a hard-swinging interpretation of a lesser-known Rollins composition originally recorded on Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass. Redman is joined on the track by Bernstein, McBride and Gilmore. There is also a direct connection to Rollins’ original recording: Gilmore’s grandfather, legendary drummer Roy Haynes, played on the 1958 album.

The origins of If Ever You Would Leave Us are rooted in the immediate aftermath of Rollins’ death on May 26. Redman says that when he woke up the following day, he felt a strong need to do something in response to the loss, although he initially had no idea what that might be.

He began calling friends and colleagues, and the response was immediate. A group of major jazz musicians made themselves available for recording sessions in New York, with the project coming together within just a few weeks.

For Redman, the loss was deeply personal.

“Sonny’s passing definitely hit me hard,” he says. “It felt not unlike the passing of a parent.”

That connection between the two saxophonists goes back to Redman’s childhood. He discovered Rollins when he was around 10 or 11 years old, shortly after picking up the saxophone. While browsing through the Berkeley Public Library, Redman came across Saxophone Colossus, Rollins’ landmark 1956 album.

Even the title caught his attention.

“I thought, ‘Hey, that’s a pretty bold title,’” Redman recalls.

But it was the music itself that changed everything. Hearing Rollins opened Redman’s ears to the possibilities of jazz improvisation and helped establish the musical direction that would follow throughout his own career.

“When I discovered Sonny Rollins, that was my gateway, and my North Star,” he says.

The influence is evident not simply in Redman’s saxophone playing but in his broader approach to jazz. Rollins represented an ideal of improvisation in which a musician could combine an enormous command of tradition with a highly individual voice. Redman has similarly built a career around balancing original compositions with standards, while continually searching for new ways to approach familiar material.

For Redman, Rollins was more than an important influence. He describes him as his “number one” and as a musical father, grandfather and godfather.

“He’s my biggest influence as an improviser and as a saxophonist,” Redman says. “He was with us forever — for the totality of my life, and a lifetime before mine. He was somebody who felt like he would never leave us.”

That idea provides the emotional center of If Ever You Would Leave Us. The album is not simply a collection of Rollins compositions performed by another generation of musicians. It is Redman’s personal response to an artist whose music helped shape his understanding of what a jazz saxophonist could be.

The range of musicians assembled for the project also reflects the breadth of Rollins’ influence. McBride and Grenadier bring contrasting generations of bass expertise, while Bernstein and Hays have direct connections to Rollins’ own bands. Chris Potter provides another tenor voice capable of engaging with Rollins’ formidable improvisational legacy, while Salvant and Cavassa bring the repertoire into the world of jazz vocals.

The result promises to be both a celebration of Rollins’ compositions and a reflection of how his musical ideas continue to resonate with contemporary jazz musicians.

Rollins spent decades demonstrating that the jazz tradition could remain endlessly creative without abandoning its roots. For Redman, that lesson remains central to the music he makes today.

With If Ever You Would Leave Us, Redman and an extraordinary collective of musicians now return to Rollins’ repertoire not simply to look backward, but to demonstrate how deeply his music continues to live through the musicians he influenced.

And in Redman’s words, perhaps that is the ultimate tribute: Rollins may have left the stage, but through the musicians who continue to play his music, he never really leaves us.

Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves Honor John Coltrane With Dedicated to You

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and vocalist Dianne Reeves have joined forces for Dedicated to You, a new album honoring John Coltrane and arriving September 18 as part of the celebrations surrounding the jazz legend’s centennial.

The pair have previewed the project with the title track, a new interpretation that offers a glimpse into an album inspired in large part by one of Coltrane’s most intimate recordings, the 1963 Impulse! classic John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.

Rather than attempting to recreate Coltrane’s music, Marsalis has taken what he describes as a “road less travelled.” Dedicated to You features new versions of the six standards from the Coltrane-Hartman album, along with additional instrumental performances drawn from Coltrane’s repertoire, creating an expansive tribute that connects one of jazz’s most influential saxophonists with two generations of musicians deeply grounded in the tradition.

For Marsalis, the choice of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman provided a natural starting point. The album has long been regarded as a landmark example of the relationship between a vocalist and an instrumental ensemble, with Coltrane's restrained, lyrical playing providing the perfect setting for Hartman’s rich baritone.

The more difficult question was who should take the vocal role.

Marsalis initially considered male singers before deciding to wait on the choice. When he woke up the next morning, the answer was Dianne Reeves.

Marsalis describes Reeves as possessing what he calls “the thing”—a quality that goes beyond technique and becomes part of the music itself. Her extensive listening and ability to bring emotional depth to a song made her, in his view, the ideal partner for the project.

Reeves brings her own deep connection to the jazz tradition. As a teenager, she worked with legendary trumpeter Clark Terry, an experience that helped shape her approach to standards and melody.

“Standards and good melody, that’s what we did,” Reeves recalls of working with Terry. His philosophy was straightforward: give the song what it needs. Sometimes that means space, sometimes embellishment, and sometimes simply allowing the melody to speak for itself.

That philosophy is particularly appropriate for music associated with Coltrane and Hartman. Reeves also grew up familiar with the original album because her parents were fans of Johnny Hartman, giving her an early connection to the music that would eventually become the centerpiece of this new project.

For the recording, Reeves joins the Branford Marsalis Quartet, featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner. The combination creates a musical setting capable of moving between the intimacy of a ballad and the more exploratory instrumental language associated with Coltrane.

Marsalis sees Coltrane not as an artist who simply rejected tradition, but as someone who understood it deeply before expanding its possibilities.

“John Coltrane was not about trying to destroy the norm,” Marsalis says. “He came up like Picasso. He knew the tradition and then saw how to expand it.”

That idea is central to Dedicated to You. Rather than treating Coltrane’s compositions as vehicles for technical display, Marsalis approaches the music with an emphasis on melody, lyricism and respect for the character of each composition.

The album arrives at a significant moment in Coltrane’s legacy, marking his centennial with a project that connects his music to performers who have developed their own voices while remaining deeply connected to the jazz tradition.

Marsalis and Reeves will take the project on the road beginning in the fall, with an extensive schedule spanning North America and Europe. The tour includes major performing arts centers, jazz festivals and concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Symphony Center in Chicago, the EFG London Jazz Festival and some of Europe's most prominent venues.

Reeves is clearly looking forward to taking the music beyond the recording studio. “I can’t wait to see where we take the music,” she says. “I told Branford we may even need to dance.”

Branford Marsalis Quartet & Dianne Reeves – Tour Dates

2026

September 5 – Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival – Willemstad, Curaçao

September 10 – Aronoff Center – Cincinnati, OH

September 12 – Cain Park – Cleveland Heights, OH

September 17–20 – Miner Auditorium – San Francisco, CA

September 27 – Heymann Performing Arts Center – Lafayette, LA

September 30 – Mondavi Center – Davis, CA

October 2 – Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center – Livermore, CA

October 3 – Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix, AZ

October 6 – Hogg Memorial Auditorium – Austin, TX

October 7 – Kingsbury Hall – Salt Lake City, UT

October 8 – The Soraya – Northridge, CA

October 10 – Seattle Jazz Festival @ Town Hall – Seattle, WA

October 11 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR

October 13 – Chan Centre for the Performing Arts – Vancouver, Canada

October 14 – Jack Singer Concert Hall – Calgary, Canada

October 16 – Symphony Center – Chicago, IL

October 17 – Ordway Concert Hall – St. Paul, MN

October 18 – Powell Symphony Hall – St. Louis, MO

October 27 – Carnegie Hall – New York, NY

November 3 – Palau de la Música Catalana – Barcelona, Spain

November 4 – Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Netherlands

November 6 – Kulturraffinerie – Monheim am Rhein, Germany

November 8 – NOSPR – Katowice, Poland

November 9 – Wiener Konzerthaus – Vienna, Austria

November 10 – Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall – Zagreb, Croatia

November 12 – Béla Bartók National Concert Hall – Budapest, Hungary

November 14 – Isarphilharmonie – Munich, Germany

November 16 – Elbphilharmonie – Hamburg, Germany

November 18 – Philharmonie Luxembourg – Luxembourg

November 19 – Alte Oper – Frankfurt, Germany

November 21 – EFG London Jazz Festival – London, England

2027

February 4 – Millersville University – Lancaster, PA

February 5 – Zellerbach Theatre – Pennsylvania, PA

February 6 – Koerner Hall – Toronto, Canada

April 1 – Coolidge Auditorium – Washington, DC

April 3 – SUNY Purchase Concert Hall – Purchase, NY

April 5 – Carolina Theatre of Greensboro – Greensboro, NC

April 7 – Lensic Performing Arts Center – Santa Fe, NM

April 8 – Popejoy Hall – Albuquerque, NM

April 11 – Charleston Gaillard Center – Charleston, SC

April 13 – Symphony Hall – Boston, MA

April 15 – St. Cecilia Music Center – Grand Rapids, MI

April 17 – Fox Cities Performing Arts Center – Appleton, WI

April 22 – Kleinhans Music Hall – Buffalo, NY

April 24 – Folly Theater – Kansas City, MO

Don Cherry’s Lost 1977 Concert Finally Emerges on Sunrise

A remarkable piece of Don Cherry’s musical history is finally coming to light with Sunrise – Live in Ypsilanti, MI (1977), a previously unofficially circulating concert that receives its first authorized release from Wewantsounds on November 6, 2026.

Recorded live on March 5, 1977, at Pease Auditorium in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Sunrise captures Cherry during one of the most adventurous periods of his career. The concert brings together Cherry with percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Collin Walcott and vocalist Leon Thomas, with members of the influential ensemble Oregon joining for part of the performance.

What makes the recording particularly significant is the rarity of the collaboration. Cherry, Walcott and Thomas are documented performing together here in what is described as their only known recorded concert appearance as a trio. The performance also arrives only weeks after Cherry participated in the recording of Walcott’s ECM album Grazing Dreams.

For Cherry, the late 1970s were a period of continued exploration of what he called his “Organic Music” philosophy. His music increasingly embraced sounds, instruments and traditions from around the world, particularly Eastern and African influences. On Sunrise, he moves between pocket trumpet, the West African doussn’gouni, flute, percussion and voice, creating music that moves beyond conventional jazz categories into an immersive, spiritual soundscape.

Walcott was an ideal musical partner for Cherry. His work with tabla, sitar, congas, hammered dulcimer and percussion brought another dimension of global musical language to the performance. Thomas adds his unmistakable vocal presence, including the distinctive yodeling style that made him one of the most recognizable voices in spiritual jazz.

For part of the concert, they are joined by Oregon members Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless and Glen Moore. The combination is especially intriguing in retrospect, as the meeting of Cherry, Walcott and Thomas anticipates the cross-cultural musical exploration that would later emerge through CODONA, the groundbreaking trio formed by Cherry, Walcott and Nana Vasconcelos.

The recording itself has circulated among a small group of Don Cherry enthusiasts for years, but Sunrise gives the entire concert an official presentation. The newly remastered audio reportedly brings an unusually intimate quality to the performance, preserving the sense of being inside the auditorium as the musicians develop their hypnotic, free-flowing ideas.

The concert also has an interesting story behind it. Producer James Quinlan recalls that Leon Thomas arrived with Cherry as an unexpected guest. Thomas was not part of the original advertisement or contract, meaning the audience had no advance indication of what was about to take place. That spontaneous addition ultimately became one of the defining elements of the performance.

The music unfolds across four sides of the 2-LP set. The opening “Sunrise” runs more than 23 minutes, followed by the two-part “Doussn’ Gouni Fly,” “Eastern Flute Song” and the 20-minute “Holy River.” Together, the pieces document a performance built less around conventional song structures than around rhythm, texture, improvisation and sustained musical interaction.

The release also celebrates the creative partnership between Don Cherry and his wife, artist Moki Cherry. The front cover reproduces her striking 1975 Mandala tapestry, adding another dimension to an album that reflects the Cherrys' broader approach to combining music, visual art and global cultural influences.

New liner notes by writer Jason Weiss include a conversation with Quinlan, who provides firsthand recollections of the concert and its unexpected lineup. The album is licensed by the Don Cherry Estate and Quinlan, making this more than simply another archival jazz release: it is an authorized document of a particularly unusual moment in Cherry’s musical journey.

Sunrise – Live in Ypsilanti, MI (1977) will be released November 6, 2026, in a deluxe 2-LP gatefold edition, as well as on CD and digitally.

For listeners familiar with Don Cherry's work, the album offers another window into his constantly expanding musical vocabulary. For those discovering him for the first time, it provides a vivid example of why Cherry's influence has continued to grow long after his passing: his music was never confined by the boundaries of jazz, geography or tradition.

Dusty Springfield’s United Artists Years Collected for the First Time on New Real Gone Music Set

Dusty Springfield’s remarkable artistic journey through the 1970s gets a new chapter with Dusty Springfield: The United Artists Collection, the first-ever collection devoted to the legendary British singer’s United Artists recordings. The 2-LP/2-CD set from Real Gone Music brings together her two UA albums, It Begins Again and Living Without Your Love, along with five non-LP bonus tracks, offering a comprehensive look at a fascinating period in Springfield’s career.

By the mid-1970s, Springfield had stepped away from performing and recording following a difficult period that included her departure from ABC/Dunhill Records. After relocating to Los Angeles in hopes of strengthening her American career, her well-documented insecurities contributed to the abandonment of an album in 1974.

Springfield was subsequently courted by Elton John for his Rocket Records label, but when she returned to the studio in 1977, she instead signed with United Artists Records. Young songwriter Steve Dorff was brought in to produce two of his compositions with Springfield, with “Let Me Love You Once Before You Go” ultimately selected as the single. Although the song only briefly bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100, it marked the beginning of a new phase.

The follow-up sessions were overseen by producer Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen, and resulted in It Begins Again, released in 1978 as Springfield’s comeback album.

The record demonstrated just how much Springfield still had to offer. Moving comfortably between pop, rock, soul and disco, It Begins Again paired her distinctive voice with some of the finest West Coast studio musicians. Springfield's vocals revealed both warmth and vulnerability, while also displaying new textures and techniques that expanded the sound she had established during her earlier career.

For her second United Artists album, Living Without Your Love, Springfield took a somewhat softer direction. Released in 1979 and produced by David Wolfert for the Entertainment Company, the album focused primarily on soulful pop, with light dance elements adding variety. Together, the two albums document an artist who had rediscovered both her confidence and the joy of performing.

The new collection expands the original albums with five non-LP bonus tracks, highlighted by the promotional-only extended disco mix of “That’s the Kind of Love I’ve Got for You.” The Tom Moulton mix became a Billboard dance-chart entry and, in retrospect, offered an intriguing preview of Springfield’s later embrace of dance-oriented music, culminating in her celebrated collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys a decade later.

For the new edition, most of the tracks have been sourced from the original American masters for the first time. The collection has been remastered for vinyl by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, while Joe Marchese provides new liner notes in an LP-sized four-page insert featuring rarely seen period photographs.

Available as a two-LP set pressed on violet PET plastic or as a two-CD edition, The United Artists Collection captures an important but sometimes overlooked chapter in Dusty Springfield’s career. Rather than simply marking a comeback, the recordings reveal an artist continuing to evolve, experimenting with contemporary sounds while retaining the emotional depth and unmistakable vocal personality that made her one of popular music’s most enduring singers.

Track Listing

Side A

1. “Turn Me Around”
2. “Checkmate”
3. “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love”
4. “A Love Like Yours (Don’t Come Knocking Every Day)”
5. “Love Me by Name”
6. “Sandra”

Side B

1. “I Found Love with You”
2. “Hollywood Movie Girls”
3. “That’s the Kind of Love I’ve Got for You”
4. “Let Me Love You Once Before You Go”
5. “I Am Your Child”
6. “You Set My Dreams to Music”

Side C

1. “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”
2. “You Can Do It”
3. “Be Somebody”
4. “Closet Man”
5. “Living Without Your Love”
6. “Save Me, Save Me”

Side D

1. “Get Yourself to Love”
2. “I Just Fall in Love Again”
3. “Dream On”
4. “I’m Coming Home Again”
5. “Give Me the Night”
6. “That’s the Kind of Love I’ve Got for You (Extended Disco Mix)”

Jesse Cook Goes “Past the Breakwater” with a New Album and Extensive Forever Live Tour

Rumba flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook returns September 18 with past the breakwater, a 10-track album that finds the acclaimed guitarist moving deeper into the jazz influences that have shaped his musical life. Released through Coach House Music and distributed by Believe, the album arrives just as Cook launches the extensive Forever Live Tour, a North American run that will keep him on the road through 2027.

The album follows the release of two singles, “forever” and “you were looking north,” and represents a notably intimate direction for an artist known for his distinctive fusion of flamenco, jazz, classical and world music. Rather than building around dense arrangements, Cook has chosen to create an album with space, atmosphere and room for every note to breathe.

“As a music lover, there’s a category of music I have always listened to on rainy days, or late nights with friends,” Cook says, pointing to albums such as Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and ’Round Midnight, Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, and Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert. “Albums you can put on and live in. Quiet albums. Albums that breathe.”

That idea became the guiding principle for past the breakwater. Cook wanted to make music that listeners could inhabit rather than simply consume, allowing the emotional character of the guitar to come forward without being surrounded by unnecessary layers.

“I wanted to leave more space in these recordings,” he explains. “So, some of these songs are just Spanish guitar and double bass. I wanted to be able to hear every note, every articulation.”

The album's title comes directly from the environment in which much of the music was created. Cook recorded the project in a cabin on a small, remote island in the lake country of the Canadian Shield, accessible only by boat. Surrounded by the stillness of the Canadian wilderness, he found the isolation suited the kind of music he was trying to make.

“The stillness there is protected by rows of ancient shoals,” Cook says. “Like prehistoric sentinels, a breakwater against the storms that lay beyond. Sometimes I need to get away from everything, so I can just get lost in the music.”

That sense of retreat and reflection is woven into the character of past the breakwater. The music remains unmistakably Jesse Cook, but the familiar rhythmic energy of his rumba flamenco style is balanced by a more contemplative approach. Spanish guitar, double bass, strings and percussion are allowed to occupy their own spaces, creating an album that emphasizes subtlety as much as virtuosity.

Cook composed, arranged, produced, recorded and mixed the entire album himself, with mastering handled by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound. He is joined by longtime collaborators Marito Marques on drums and percussion, Will Lamoureux on strings and violin, and Ross MacIntyre on double bass. Cellist Jill Sauerteig appears on “forever.”

The result is another chapter in a career that has taken Cook's interpretation of Spanish guitar music to audiences around the world. Born in Paris and raised in Toronto, Cook has spent three decades developing a devoted international following while expanding the possibilities of rumba flamenco through his embrace of jazz, classical and world music.

His reach is reflected in his enormous digital audience. As of March 2026, Cook's combined lifetime streams and views had surpassed 1.164 billion, including 425 million Pandora streams, 175 million views through Instagram user-generated content, 155 million YouTube views and 145 million Spotify streams. His social following includes 661,000 Instagram followers, 307,000 YouTube subscribers and 299,000 monthly Spotify listeners.

past the breakwater continues that global journey while taking Cook somewhere quieter.

The album's 10 tracks are:

1. “forever”
2. “you were looking north”
3. “past the breakwater”
4. “life in e minor”
5. “easton revisited”
6. “the secret shape of things”
7. “eleven unnecessary turns”
8. “floating on the silence”
9. “my beautiful exile”
10. “long shadows and small mercies”

The Forever Live Tour begins September 19, just one day after the album's release, with an extensive series of Quebec performances before moving through the northeastern United States and Ontario. The tour then heads west in January and February, with additional dates expected to continue into 2027 across Canada and Europe.

Forever Live Tour Dates

September 2026

• September 19 — Théâtre de Lac-Brome, Lac-Brome, QC
• September 21 — Grand Théâtre de Québec, Quebec City, QC
• September 22 — Théâtre de la Ville, Longueuil, QC
• September 24 — Salle Pauline-Julien, Sainte-Geneviève, QC
• September 25 — Théâtre Lionel-Groulx, Sainte-Thérèse, QC
• September 26 — Théâtre Hector-Charland, L'Assomption, QC
• September 27 — Théâtre Granada, Sherbrooke, QC
• September 30 — Espace Théâtre Muni-Spec, Mont-Laurier, QC

October 2026

• October 1 — Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, Terrebonne, QC
• October 2 — Théâtre du Casino Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, QC
• October 3 — Centre des Arts Juliette-Lassonde, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC

November 2026

• November 5 — City Winery Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• November 6 — Groton Hill Music Center, Groton, MA
• November 7 — HOPE Center for the Arts, Springfield, MA
• November 8 — Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA
• November 10 — The Kate, Old Saybrook, CT
• November 11 — Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
• November 12 — Narrows, Fall River, MA
• November 13 — Alder Hall at NY Society for Ethical Culture, New York, NY
• November 14 — Victoria Theatre at NJPAC, Newark, NJ
• November 15 — Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA
• November 17 — Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
• November 18 — Attucks Theatre, Norfolk, VA
• November 19 — Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
• November 20 — Hart Theatre at The Egg, Albany, NY
• November 21 — The Temple at Tellus 360, Lancaster, PA
• November 22 — Beston Hall, Pittsford (Rochester), NY
• November 27 — Casino Rama, Orillia, ON

January 2027

• January 14 — Tower Theatre, Bend, OR
• January 15 — Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
• January 16 — The Shedd, Jaqua Concert Hall, Eugene, OR
• January 17 — Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
• January 19 — McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, CA
• January 20 — Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA
• January 21 — Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
• January 22 — Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
• January 23 — Saban Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
• January 25 & 26 — Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV
• January 27 — Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA
• January 28 — Magnolia, San Diego, CA
• January 29 — Mesa Arts Center, Ikeda Theater, Mesa, AZ
• January 30 — Fox Tucson Theatre, Tucson, AZ
• January 31 — KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM

February 2027

• February 1 — The Lensic, Santa Fe, NM
• February 3 — Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO

With past the breakwater, Jesse Cook isn't abandoning the vibrant rhythmic language that has defined his career. Instead, he is stripping it back, giving the guitar more room to speak and allowing the quieter side of his musical personality to take center stage. The album's combination of flamenco technique, jazz sensibility and spacious production makes it a natural extension of Cook's evolution—and perhaps his most intimate recording yet.

Shane Sato’s Wavelength Connects Jazz, Soul and Indie R&B in a Fluid New Sound

Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Shane Sato returns with Wavelength, an expansive sophomore album that finds him pushing further into the intersection of jazz, indie R&B and soul. Released May 15, 2026 via Mixto Records, the 11-track collection is warm, melodic and deeply collaborative, tied together by themes of love, connection and the calming, connective pull of water.

For Sato, that sense of connection is both musical and personal. Born and raised in Southern California and of Japanese-American heritage, he has built his music around the meeting of different cultures, sounds and influences. His 2025 debut, Until We Meet Again, established him as an artist to watch, earning critical attention, a series of notable collaborations and more than a million streams.

With Wavelength, Sato expands that foundation considerably. The album brings together an impressive community of artists, including saxophonist Braxton Cook, indie-pop artist Box Dreams, R&B vocalist Oli-J and Japanese-American R&B songstress Nao Yoshioka, among others. Rather than treating jazz, soul and R&B as separate musical worlds, Sato allows them to naturally overlap throughout the album.

The lead single, “Never Let You G,” is a soulful meditation on love and devotion that grew out of a spontaneous jam session just days after Sato's wedding. Created with Nashville vocalist Oli-J and co-producers Coastal and Clay Sauter, the track captures the album's emphasis on organic collaboration and emotional immediacy.

Elsewhere, “Deep Dive” takes a moodier, more indie-oriented approach. Born from late-night sessions with Box Dreams frontman Adam Rhodes, the song explores the feeling of falling into new love, with Rhodes' raspy vocals complementing the cooler, jazz-influenced textures of Sato's production.

“Surfliner” may be the album's most direct expression of its Southern California identity. Inspired by the coastal train route of the same name, the neo-soul and jazz-inflected track features Braxton Cook's warm, breathy saxophone. Its relaxed pulse mirrors the experience of watching the California coastline pass by, emphasizing atmosphere over urgency.

On “Clouds,” acclaimed musician Reuben James contributes both his jazz virtuosity and soulful vocal presence, while “Pulse” moves in a more lo-fi, dance-oriented direction with producer and musician Coastal.

Across Wavelength, Sato's arrangements favor texture, groove and atmosphere without sacrificing melody. The album feels less like a collection of genre exercises than a continuous musical environment—fluid and constantly shifting while retaining a recognizable sonic identity.

That quality makes Wavelength a natural progression from Sato's debut. The new album is more expansive in both its collaborations and its musical vocabulary, yet its underlying purpose remains straightforward: using music to create connection and uplift.

Available on vinyl and digitally through Mixto Records, Wavelength marks a defining new chapter for Shane Sato, an artist increasingly comfortable occupying the space between jazz, neo-soul and contemporary R&B. With local performances planned and a larger tour expected later in the year, the album also sets the stage for Sato to bring its warm, fluid sound into a live setting.

Irreversible Entanglements Return With Future Present Past, A Powerful Call to Collective Action

Free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements return with Future Present Past, their fifth studio album and a powerful continuation of the group's ongoing exploration of improvisation, liberation and collective expression. Released via Impulse!, the album is introduced with two new singles, “Don’t Lose Your Head” and “Vibrate Higher,” both featuring longtime friend and frequent collaborator MOTHERBOARD.

The two tracks offer contrasting windows into the musical world of the new album. “Don’t Lose Your Head” arrives as a restrained but intensely focused rallying cry. Vocalists Camae Ayewa and MOTHERBOARD deliver the song with a subdued passion, riding an agile groove from drummer Tcheser Holmes. The arrangement remains tight and purposeful, creating a sense of urgency without sacrificing the space that has always been essential to Irreversible Entanglements' music.

“Vibrate Higher” takes a more expansive and unsettled approach. The track originated as a live performance recorded before a capacity crowd at Brooklyn's Pioneer Works, on bassist Luke Stewart's birthday. It begins with atmospheric synth drones from Keir Neuringer, joined by Stewart's expressive bass, before gradually building into a dense combination of percussion, horns and voices.

As the intensity increases, Ayewa calls for a “different atmosphere,” triggering a dramatic transformation. Trumpeter Aquiles Navarro introduces dissonant lines that seem to open a passage into another musical space, leading the ensemble into an entrancing rhythmic vamp. The transition captures one of Irreversible Entanglements' greatest strengths: the ability to make composition and improvisation feel inseparable, creating music that seems to discover itself in real time.

That quality runs throughout Future Present Past. For the album, the quintet returned to the historic Van Gelder Studio in October 2024 to record most of the primary tracks. The sessions captured the group at an especially mature point in its development, combining group improvisation, composition and rhythm into a sound that draws deeply from diasporic liberation music.

The album's title reflects its broad perspective. The past is treated as a source of ancestral knowledge and historical warnings; the present is marked by uncertainty and anxiety; and the future remains a place of possibility and potential. Rather than viewing those three dimensions separately, Irreversible Entanglements weave them together into a musical continuum.

Additional recording and production continued for nine months after the Van Gelder sessions. In the summer of 2025, Jonathan Schenke worked closely with the band at his Brooklyn studio, editing and arranging the material, while Andrew Lappin returned to mix the collection. MOTHERBOARD and Helado Negro join the group as guests, integrating naturally into the collective's already expansive sound.

The result is more than simply another free jazz recording. Future Present Past is presented as a call to action, rooted in the band's belief that there is no outside force coming to solve the problems confronting society. Instead, the responsibility lies with people to care for one another and build something better together.

That philosophy is reflected in the band's statement about the album, which looks toward the millions of people sharing the planet while drawing inspiration from generations of “healers, alchemists, rebels” and others who have challenged existing ways of living and imagining new possibilities.

Irreversible Entanglements see themselves as part of that continuing tradition. Their music becomes a vehicle for carrying those ideas forward—music that refuses imposed chaos and instead urges listeners to keep moving, to cross boundaries and to seek something beyond the noise and distractions of the moment.

The tension between resistance and hope gives Future Present Past its emotional center. The music can be turbulent, dense and dissonant, but it is never without direction. Even in the most challenging passages, there is an underlying sense of movement toward connection.

With Camae Ayewa, Keir Neuringer, Aquiles Navarro, Luke Stewart and Tcheser Holmes operating as a tightly interconnected unit, Irreversible Entanglements continue to demonstrate how free jazz can function as both musical language and communal expression. Future Present Past draws from the past, confronts the present and imagines what might come next—while insisting that the journey forward is something we undertake together.

Ayn Inserto and the WDR Big Band Bring Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines to Life

Composer, arranger and bandleader Ayn Inserto joins forces with the world-renowned WDR Big Band on Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines: The Music of Ayn Inserto, a dazzling live recording that showcases one of contemporary big band music's distinctive voices. Released August 7, 2026, via Summit Records, the album brings together compositions from across Inserto's career with a newly commissioned four-movement suite written specifically for acclaimed trumpeter Sean Jones.

For Inserto, the opportunity to lead the WDR Big Band in Cologne was both a professional milestone and a deeply personal experience. The Singapore-born, Boston-based composer founded the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra 25 years ago, establishing herself as a composer whose writing combines sophisticated ensemble architecture with rhythmic energy and an unmistakable melodic sensibility. Having followed the WDR Big Band for years and watched the ensemble perform music by many of her mentors and influences, being invited to present her own music with the band was, in her words, "a treat and an honor."

The result is Inserto's first new album in eight years and a vivid demonstration of what happens when her compositions are placed in the hands of one of the world's premier large ensembles. Recorded live on May 31, 2024, the album captures the WDR Big Band navigating music that can be angular and rhythmically demanding while remaining remarkably lyrical.

The title Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines reflects the tension at the heart of Inserto's musical language. Her compositions can feature sharp horn accents, interrupted bass lines, complex rhythmic patterns and unexpected resolutions, yet those seemingly disparate elements ultimately connect into continuous musical lines. There is friction, but also elegance; complexity, but also an inviting sense of movement.

That balance is apparent from the opening selections. "Eshel Sketch," originally recorded by the Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra on its 2009 album Muse, immediately places considerable demands on the ensemble, while "Vinifera" reveals a richer, more atmospheric side of Inserto's writing. "La Danza Infinita," originally recorded by the Colours Jazz Orchestra in 2015, provides a lush and gripping ballad, demonstrating that Inserto's rhythmic sophistication never comes at the expense of melody.

"Down a Rabbit Hole," from the 2018 Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra album of the same name and also featuring Jones, takes the music in another direction. Inspired by the "curiouser and curiouser" world of Alice in Wonderland, the composition becomes a whirlwind of shifting ideas and rhythmic momentum.

At the center of the new recording, however, is "Suite for Sean Jones," a four-movement work that represents perhaps the most personal composition Inserto has written. Rather than simply creating a vehicle for a star soloist, Inserto set out to create a musical portrait of Jones himself.

She spent months listening to recordings Jones made as a leader, trying to understand his sound and musical personality before beginning the composition. What she heard went beyond technical brilliance. Beneath the pyrotechnics, she found a deep connection to soul and the blues.

The resulting suite explores four dimensions of Jones' life: "The Artist," "The Educator," "The Husband and Father," and "The Human Soul." The music ranges from demanding, intricate passages to moments of extraordinary emotional warmth. Inserto even recalls that Jones became visibly moved during the performance, with tears appearing in his eyes as members of the audience reacted emotionally to the music as well.

The personal connection between the two musicians goes back years. Inserto met Jones when he was chair of the brass department at Berklee College of Music, where she is Assistant Chair of Harmony and Jazz Composition. But their musical history reaches back even further. During a tour of Italy in 2001, a young trumpeter sat in with Inserto's college band. Only years later did she discover that the young musician had been Jones. As Inserto puts it, their story "keeps growing and growing."

Other pieces deepen that portrait. "Mr. Jones and Company," written for NYO Jazz, the Carnegie Hall national youth ensemble led by Jones, and "BJ's Tune," Inserto's arrangement of a Jones composition dedicated to his nephew, offer further glimpses of the trumpeter's warmth and personality.

At the same time, Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines is unmistakably an album about Ayn Inserto herself. Her writing has earned recognition from DownBeat, The Boston Globe and the Jazz Journalists Association, while her work with ensembles including the Frankfurt Radio Big Band has placed her increasingly at the center of contemporary large-ensemble jazz.

Her arrangements of music by bassist Linda May Han Oh, including performances with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, further established her reputation as a composer capable of bringing sophisticated contemporary ideas to large ensembles without sacrificing accessibility.

Inserto's philosophy can be summed up in one simple statement: "For me, melody is queen." That principle helps explain why her music, despite its technical demands, never feels like an exercise in complexity for its own sake. The compositions may challenge the musicians, but they remain grounded in lines that can be felt and sung.

That quality is ultimately what makes Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines so compelling. It is a showcase for the extraordinary precision and virtuosity of the WDR Big Band, a tribute to Sean Jones, and a career-spanning portrait of Inserto's evolving musical voice. Most importantly, it demonstrates how ambitious large-ensemble writing can remain emotionally direct.

With its combination of intricate architecture, rhythmic intensity, melodic clarity and human warmth, Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines captures Ayn Inserto at a pivotal moment in her career—and confirms her growing stature as one of the most imaginative composers working in contemporary big band jazz.

WDR Big Band – Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines: The Music of Ayn Inserto
Summit Records – SMT-850
Recorded May 31, 2024
Released August 7, 2026