Michael Pagán Turns Up the Heat on Burn It Forward, a Fiery New Big Band Statement

Kansas City’s jazz scene has plenty of reasons to turn up the volume this fall. Pianist, composer and bandleader Michael Pagán returns with Burn It Forward, his second big band album, arriving November 20, 2026, on Capri Records. Featuring all-original music and an 18-piece ensemble packed with some of the city’s finest jazz musicians, the album delivers a vibrant blend of post-bop, funk blues, lush balladry and hard-swinging big band energy.

Building on the promise of his acclaimed debut, Pag’s Groove, Pagán takes his orchestral ambitions further, pairing sophisticated compositions with an irresistible rhythmic drive. His signature tonal palette and formidable yet accessible harmonic approach give the music plenty of depth, but never at the expense of its swing. The result is big band jazz that rewards close listening while retaining the fire, spontaneity and forward momentum that make the music move.

Pagán’s strength lies in his ability to balance complexity with clarity. As a composer, he constructs intricate musical landscapes without losing sight of melody and groove. As a performer and bandleader, he gives those ideas room to breathe, allowing the ensemble’s collective power to shine while preserving the individuality of the musicians within it.

The personnel reads like a who’s who of Kansas City jazz, with saxophonists David Chael and Michael Herrera, bassist Louie Pagán and drummer Ray DeMarchi among the featured players. All appeared on Pagán’s well-received quintet recording Paganova, bringing an established musical rapport to the larger ensemble. That familiarity helps give Burn It Forward its sense of cohesion, even as the arrangements move between contrasting moods, textures and tempos.

The new album also extends a creative trajectory that has already earned Pagán considerable critical recognition. His first big band release, Pag’s Groove, drew praise from Bob Karlovitz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, who described it as “a great display of musicianship both from a compositional and performance point of view.” Bill Brownlee of Plastic Sax has been equally enthusiastic, observing, “I’m invariably floored by the high quality of each release by the pianist, composer and bandleader.”

On Burn It Forward, Pagán answers those expectations with a program that showcases both the breadth of his writing and the versatility of his ensemble. The opening track, “Hustlin’,” immediately establishes the band’s bright, energetic character. Tight ensemble interplay, dynamic accents and a confident rhythmic pulse set the tone for an album that remains in motion even when it shifts into more reflective territory.

“Erie Ballad” brings a blues-inflected warmth to the proceedings, offering a more intimate atmosphere before the title track raises the temperature again. “Burn It Forward” is a showcase for the ensemble’s precision and intensity, with the musicians navigating feverish passages and tightly coordinated arrangements that highlight the technical demands of Pagán’s writing.

“Hawkwatcher” opens with an intricate conversation among the horns, building anticipation before the full band enters with a smooth, satisfying surge. The arrangement demonstrates Pagán’s ability to make a large ensemble feel conversational rather than simply imposing, using the interplay between sections to create movement and dramatic tension.

The album also revisits familiar territory with fresh perspective. “Pag’s Funky Groove,” a reworking of the title track from Pag’s Groove, gives an already compelling composition a new lease on life in its expanded setting. The funk-driven foundation remains central, but the larger ensemble adds new colors and dimensions, underscoring how effectively Pagán’s music translates to big band.

One of the album’s emotional high points arrives with “Deep in My Soul.” Expanded for big band from an earlier quintet version, the piece pairs a heartfelt melody with the expressive richness of the larger arrangement. Its sweet power culminates in a spectacular piano solo, placing Pagán’s instrumental voice firmly at the center of the music without diminishing the ensemble’s contribution.

“North of the River” further reveals the range of Pagán’s compositional imagination, moving beyond any single stylistic lane. That breadth continues with “I Contrafact On You,” a brisk, snappy take on Cole Porter’s classic “I Concentrate on You.” The playful title signals the jazz tradition of reworking familiar material, while the performance brings a lively, modern sensibility to the proceedings.

The closing track, “If You Have to Ask (You’ll Never Know),” takes its cue from Louis Armstrong’s famous response to the question, “What is jazz?” Pagán’s answer comes in the form of a spirited finale that brings the album’s central qualities into focus: ensemble precision, musical personality, compositional sophistication and an unshakable sense of swing.

For Pagán, the release represents another milestone in a career that has taken him throughout the United States and Europe alongside notable jazz musicians. Described by KC Confidential as a “brilliant, intense” jazz piano performer and by All About Jazz as a “dynamic artist and musical force in today's jazz world,” he remains a regular presence in Kansas City’s jazz venues, performing as a soloist, with his trio, with his quintet Paganova and at the helm of the Michael Pagán Big Band.

His work as a composer and arranger is equally substantial. With nearly 200 works to his credit, primarily in jazz, and recordings for numerous labels, including Capri Records, Pagán has developed a distinctive musical identity rooted in the tradition but open to a wide range of contemporary influences.

Burn It Forward makes a compelling case for the continuing vitality of big band jazz when it is driven by strong original writing and musicians who know how to bring it to life. The album is ambitious without becoming inaccessible, polished without losing its edge, and technically impressive without sacrificing the joy of playing together. For listeners drawn to the expressive possibilities of a large jazz ensemble, Pagán’s latest effort offers plenty to savor—and plenty of reasons to come back for another listen.

Burn It Forward arrives November 20, 2026, via Capri Records and will be available on all major streaming platforms and as a physical CD. Scores and parts for all the album’s charts will also be available, extending the music’s life beyond the recording and offering other ensembles an opportunity to explore Pagán’s arrangements firsthand.

The Sound of New York After Dark: Rediscovering CD 101.9

There was a time when the perfect soundtrack to a New York evening could be found on the radio. As the city lights came on and the streets began to glow, CD 101.9 brought smooth jazz into homes, cars, and late-night routines across the city. 

Now, that easygoing spirit lives on in a new Spotify playlist: CD 101.9 — Smooth Jazz & Chill. 

The playlist revisits the sounds that made smooth jazz a favorite companion for New York nights: silky saxophone melodies, soulful grooves, and relaxed rhythms that let the music breathe. It’s the kind of listening that can turn a quiet evening into a mood, whether you’re unwinding at home, settling in after a long day, or simply letting the city’s memories come back one song at a time. 

This isn’t music that asks for your full attention. It’s music that sets the scene. A saxophone line drifts through the room; a warm groove finds its pace; the day’s noise begins to fade. The result is a sound that feels both polished and personal—an invitation to slow down without losing the pulse of the city. 

For longtime listeners, CD 101.9 — Smooth Jazz & Chill offers a chance to reconnect with a beloved radio era. For new listeners, it’s an introduction to the smooth, soulful side of New York: sophisticated, welcoming, and made for the hours when the skyline shines brightest. 

Press play, settle in, and let the music take you back to the magic of NYC nights. 

Listen to the playlist below:

Charles A. Kelly Ignites a Latin-Jazz Groove for Personal Growth on New Single “Move It”

Transformation begins with a willingness to move forward, and R&B/jazz keyboardist Charles A. Kelly is putting that philosophy into motion with his new single, “Move It.” Released via Innervision Records, the vibrant, Latin-infused track blends festive rhythms, exuberant jazz flourishes, and a soul-driven pulse into an uplifting musical statement about overcoming obstacles and embracing life’s possibilities. Earning most-added status during its debut week, the single signals another exciting evolution in Kelly’s genre-expanding journey toward Transformation, the forthcoming double album set to complete his ambitious trilogy.

Written and produced by Kelly, “Move It” takes a bold stylistic turn, moving beyond the approach of his earlier single “Focus on Purpose,” which spent a couple of months on the charts earlier this year. Here, Kelly unleashes his piano and keyboards within an exuberant Latin-jazz soundscape, balancing sophisticated musicianship with an infectious groove that feels both celebratory and purposeful. The result is a track that invites listeners to move physically while encouraging them to make meaningful progress in their lives.

Kelly surrounds himself with an accomplished ensemble that brings depth, color, and rhythmic fire to the recording. Nine-time Billboard chart-topping guitarist Blake Aaron contributes lilting nylon-string guitar, while Nate Watts, the legendary bassist and musical director associated with Stevie Wonder, supplies a commanding low-end foundation shaped by decades of experience, including his work on Songs in the Key of Life. Cuban percussion master Luis Conte adds his distinctive rhythmic artistry, joined by drummer Tony Moore, whose driving performance keeps the arrangement in constant motion. Saxophonists Andrew Neu on tenor and Jason E. Kelly on soprano complete the ensemble with a sultry, expressive interplay that amplifies the track’s warmth and exuberance.

The musicians’ collective chemistry gives “Move It” its irresistible momentum. Conte’s percussion and Moore’s drums establish the rhythmic engine, while Kelly’s elegant keyboard lines weave through Aaron’s guitar textures and the saxophones’ rich melodic exchanges. Each contribution adds another dimension to the arrangement, creating a sound that draws from jazz sophistication, Latin musical traditions, and the accessible energy of contemporary R&B.

Yet beneath its festive exterior lies a message that is central to Kelly’s creative vision. For the Philadelphia native, who has long called the Los Angeles area home, “Move It” is about confronting the emotional and psychological barriers that prevent people from experiencing a fuller life.

“‘Move It’ is about removing obstacles in our lives that keep us from moving forward into happiness, success, and wellbeing,” Kelly said. “Fear, depression, addiction, hate, and loneliness are issues that can build walls around us. ‘Move It’ provides the energy and encouragement to break through those barriers. Life is meant to be lived freely and joyfully.”

That message gives the single a significance beyond its danceable rhythms. By translating themes of resilience, self-discovery, and personal renewal into an exuberant musical experience, Kelly connects the physical energy of the groove with the emotional work of transformation. The song’s buoyancy becomes an invitation to reject stagnation, confront limiting circumstances, and take the next step toward a more fulfilling existence.

The single also offers a preview of the larger artistic statement Kelly is preparing with Transformation, a double album scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2027. The project will conclude a trilogy that began in 2022 with You’re Not Alone, an album conceived to capture the contemporary jazz landscape of its moment. Its follow-up, Phase II, released last year, ventured further into experimentation and genre redefinition, pushing the boundaries of Kelly’s sound and expanding the conceptual framework of the series.

With Transformation, Kelly intends to bring that progression to its culmination, uniting the sonic experimentation, spiritual reflection, and creative ambition developed across the preceding albums. Rather than simply revisiting familiar territory, the double album promises to represent the next stage of an ongoing artistic evolution. One additional single is planned before the full project arrives, offering listeners another glimpse into the musical world Kelly is building.

Kelly’s multifaceted career provides a strong foundation for that expansive vision. A gold-record-winning musician, songwriter, producer, music director, and film composer, he has recorded and performed with an impressive roster of artists, including Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Elton John, and Nile Rodgers. His work also extends into contemporary Christian music, with collaborations involving CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Jeremy Camp, and Israel Houghton. Beyond the recording studio and concert stage, Kelly demonstrated his versatility as a performer as a series regular on the landmark television series Fame.

Across these varied experiences, Kelly has cultivated a musical identity that resists easy categorization. His work moves between jazz, R&B, soul, and other stylistic influences, reflecting a willingness to explore new possibilities while maintaining a strong melodic sensibility. “Move It” captures that balance particularly well: its intricate musicianship serves an immediately accessible groove, while its uplifting message gives the performance a clear emotional center.

As the first steps toward Transformation continue to unfold, “Move It” establishes an energetic tone for the album’s larger themes of change, renewal, and forward motion. It is both a showcase for Kelly’s collaborative musical instincts and a reminder that transformation often begins with a single decision: to move beyond what holds us back and toward what makes life more meaningful. With its Latin-jazz exuberance and soul-infused optimism, the single turns that idea into a compelling call to action. 

Chad Smith Revives the Roaring Twenties Saxophone Craze on Saxophobia

 

Long before the saxophone became synonymous with the smoky clubs of the swing era and the boundary-pushing sounds of bebop, the instrument captivated American audiences with its dazzling virtuosity, comic flair and unmistakable novelty. In the 1920s, Rudy Wiedoeft emerged as the country's first saxophone superstar, bringing the instrument into the popular imagination with a repertoire that bridged ragtime, vaudeville and the earliest strains of jazz. Nearly a century later, Broadway veteran and multi-woodwind specialist Chad Smith is bringing that vibrant musical world back into focus with Saxophobia – Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s.

Released July 17, 2026, Saxophobia reimagines Wiedoeft's compositions through expansive new symphonic orchestrations, pairing the precision and brilliance of a Hollywood film score with the intimacy, humor and showmanship of Roaring Twenties popular entertainment. Available on Hybrid SACD and in immersive Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio, the album offers a contemporary listening experience designed to reveal the full richness of a repertoire that has largely remained outside the mainstream jazz canon.

Often described as the “Kreisler of the Saxophone,” Wiedoeft occupied a distinctive place in early American popular music. His technically demanding compositions showcased the saxophone's agility and expressive possibilities at a time when the instrument was still establishing its cultural identity. His music could be virtuosic without sacrificing charm, drawing on the theatricality of vaudeville and the rhythmic vitality of ragtime while anticipating elements of the jazz language that would develop over subsequent decades.

For Smith, this repertoire offers more than a nostalgic glimpse into a bygone era. It captures a moment of remarkable musical optimism, when the saxophone's possibilities seemed almost limitless and popular entertainment embraced a spirit of experimentation and spectacle. By expanding Wiedoeft's original chamber-style works into richly layered symphonic arrangements, Smith seeks to reveal the sophistication beneath the music's playful exterior.

“Wiedoeft’s music captures the undeniable excitement and optimism of the Roaring Twenties,” Smith says. “As we approach the centennial of this iconic era, Saxophobia demonstrates that everything old can become brilliantly new again.”

The album's spatial-audio presentation further enhances that ambition. Dolby Atmos allows the orchestral arrangements to unfold across a more expansive sonic environment, bringing greater definition to the interplay between solo saxophone and ensemble. The Hybrid SACD format offers another high-quality listening option for audiences seeking to experience the detail and dynamic range of the performances.

Yet Saxophobia is not simply a studio project. It also serves as the musical centerpiece of SAXOPHILM, Smith's ambitious multimedia concert production, which brings Wiedoeft's repertoire into dialogue with the visual comedy and romantic storytelling of early cinema.

First presented as a chamber ensemble at the World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok in 2009, SAXOPHILM has since evolved into a full-scale performance combining orchestra, saxophone, piano and harp with restored silent-film projections. In the production, musicians interact in real time with the on-screen action, synchronizing Wiedoeft's virtuosic showpieces with the physical comedy of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Koko the Clown and the Keystone Cops.

Pieces such as “Sax-O-Phun” and “Sax-O-Trix” are particularly well suited to this combination of music and visual slapstick, drawing on the theatrical gestures and playful musical surprises that made Wiedoeft's work so distinctive. The result places the saxophone back in a context where entertainment, technical brilliance and visual spectacle are inseparable.

Smith's approach also highlights the historical connections between early popular music and the multimedia experiences audiences enjoy today. Long before synchronized sound transformed the film industry, live musicians provided the emotional and comic punctuation for silent pictures. SAXOPHILM revisits that tradition while allowing performers to respond dynamically to the action on screen, creating a living exchange between music and image.

It is a natural fit for a musician whose career has moved fluidly between Broadway, orchestral performance, studio recording and the concert stage. Smith has been a Broadway musician since 2002, appearing in productions including Legally Blonde, Follies and A Christmas Story. Since 2008, he has held a primary woodwind chair in Wicked, navigating an unusually broad range of instruments that includes bassoon, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet and flute.

That versatility reflects the demands of a profession in which musicians must move between different instrumental colors, musical styles and performance traditions with precision and ease. Smith's orchestral engagements include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre and the New York Pops. Across these settings, he has shared stages with artists ranging from Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin to Lady Gaga and Audra McDonald.

His work as a studio musician extends into film, television and streaming, with performances featured in major projects for Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Netflix. His credits include Star Wars: The Last Jedi, West Side Story, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Schmigadoon! and The Wizard of Oz at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Such experience across orchestral, theatrical and screen music gives Smith a particularly broad perspective on the possibilities of orchestration. On Saxophobia, that background allows him to approach Wiedoeft's music not as a historical curiosity to be preserved behind glass, but as material with fresh potential for dramatic storytelling, tonal color and large-scale musical expression.

Smith also maintains a strong commitment to music education. As an adjunct professor of saxophone at Montclair State University, he founded the institution's master's program in Multiple Woodwinds, helping develop a specialist pathway for musicians who work across several woodwind instruments. A Selmer Artist and D'Addario Clinician, he performs on historic gold-plated saxophones belonging to his mentors Al Gallodoro and Ted Hegvik, connecting his contemporary career to an earlier generation of instrumental virtuosos.

That link between musical heritage and present-day practice lies at the heart of Saxophobia. Wiedoeft's compositions emerged from an era when the saxophone was a symbol of modernity, urban energy and cultural change. Smith's new arrangements revisit that excitement while giving the music a scale and sonic dimension that would have been difficult to imagine when the pieces first captivated audiences.

The album's combination of orchestral grandeur, historical repertoire and immersive audio also invites listeners to reconsider the boundaries between jazz, classical performance and popular entertainment. Wiedoeft's music resists easy categorization, and Smith embraces that ambiguity, allowing its technical demands and theatrical personality to coexist within a contemporary symphonic framework.

With Saxophobia – Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s, Smith brings renewed attention to a pioneering chapter in the saxophone's history while demonstrating how thoughtfully reimagined repertoire can speak to modern audiences. The project honors Wiedoeft's singular artistry without limiting it to nostalgia, transforming the exuberance of the Roaring Twenties into a vivid new musical experience.

Nearly a century after Wiedoeft helped establish the saxophone as a popular sensation, Smith's project suggests that the instrument's capacity to astonish, entertain and inspire remains undiminished.

Saxophobia – Celebrating the Sax Craze of the 1920s by Chad Smith arrives July 17, 2026, on Hybrid SACD and in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio.

Ray Charles’ Live In Concert: The Complete Performance Finally Restores an Entire 1964 Shrine Auditorium Triumph

For more than six decades, Ray Charles’ legendary 1964 concert at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium existed only in incomplete form. Now, Tangerine Records has finally restored the entire 75-minute performance with Ray Charles Live In Concert: The Complete Performance, an expanded edition of the 1965 classic Live In Concert and the first-ever complete vinyl release of the unforgettable show.

Originally issued in 1965, Live In Concert captured only a portion of the performance that Ray Charles delivered at the Shrine. The album was an immediate success, earning critical acclaim and reaching the R&B Top Ten, giving listeners a tantalizing glimpse of the electrifying live show Charles had been perfecting on stages around the world. But the original LP told only part of the story.

The Complete Performance changes that. Restored to its full 75-minute running time, the new edition presents the concert as a complete portrait of Charles at the height of his powers, backed by a remarkable orchestra featuring some of the era’s finest musicians, including tenor saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, trombonist Julius Priester and alto saxophonist Hank Crawford.

The scale of the band was essential to the sound. Newman recalled the challenge of translating Ray’s smaller group into a full big-band setting, with Quincy Jones providing arrangements from his previous big band as a starting point. Crawford similarly remembered the ensemble as a star-studded group whose individual musicians were themselves major attractions. Together, they gave Charles the kind of expansive musical platform that allowed him to move effortlessly between jazz, R&B, soul, blues and pop.

The concert also has an extraordinary backstory. Following a four-month summer tour that concluded in Europe and Japan, the Shrine Auditorium performance marked the beginning of the fall tour and filled the venue’s more than 6,000 seats. The recording itself was the secret project of Ray’s manager, Joe Adams, a former top-rated Los Angeles DJ who believed the concert needed to be preserved.

Without telling Ray Charles—or the label executives, apart from producer Sid Feller, who agreed to play along—Adams hired legendary recording engineer Wally Heider to capture the show. Heider was renowned for his ability to record large ensembles in live settings, and Adams personally paid for the session, gambling that the resulting tapes would prove valuable. His gamble paid off spectacularly. The result was a historic document of Ray Charles performing spontaneously, without the constraints of a conventional studio session.

That spontaneity is evident from the very beginning. Charles was famous for never taking the stage with a fixed set list, making every performance potentially unpredictable. After Adams’ introduction, the show opens with “Swing a Little Taste,” a roaring instrumental showcase that puts the orchestra through its paces. Priester’s contribution to the band’s book gives the piece a powerful big-band character, while Newman takes a two-chorus solo before Charles tears into a brilliant piano passage punctuated by his unmistakable vocal exclamations.

Charles then demonstrates another side of his musicianship with “Makin’ Whoopee,” delivering a stellar piano interpretation energized by the enthusiastic Shrine audience. These opening numbers make the point immediately: this is not simply a singer backed by an orchestra, but a master musician commanding a band of exceptional players.

Then comes “One Mint Julep,” introduced with Charles’ casual command to his bandleader—“Okay, the Mint.” The audience recognizes the song immediately. His 1961 R&B chart-topper receives a spicy Quincy Jones arrangement, with cha-cha-inflected horns and Charles’ choppy organ creating an irresistible groove. Significantly, “One Mint Julep” was left off the original 1965 LP, making its appearance on The Complete Performance one of the release’s major revelations.

Another crucial restoration is “Georgia On My Mind,” which was also missing from the original album. Charles takes the song at an achingly deliberate pace, beginning with ornate organ figures and an earthy vocal surrounded by graceful flute lines. The performance gradually builds toward an emotional crescendo, transforming one of his signature songs into a deeply affecting live experience.

The concert continues with an extraordinary sequence of Charles classics, including “I Got a Woman,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Hide Nor Hair,” “That Lucky Old Sun,” “Hallelujah I Love Her So” and “Busted.” Each number demonstrates the breadth of Charles’ musical personality and his ability to make familiar material feel completely fresh in the moment.

The climax arrives with “What’d I Say,” the performance building organically from Charles’ piano and the rhythm section before the horn section crashes in and the Raelets answer with their unmistakable backing vocals. What begins as a song becomes a full-scale call-and-response celebration, blending rhythm, gospel, blues, humor and sensuality into the kind of communal musical experience that defined a Ray Charles concert.

And even after that extraordinary finale, the evening has one more surprise. Rather than a conventional encore, the audience gets the unexpected appearance of the “Ray Charles Choir,” which closes the proceedings with a playful “Pop Goes the Weasel” coda.

For the new edition, the original tapes have been freshly remastered by five-time GRAMMY winner Michael Graves, with Jeff Powell handling the vinyl mastering. Produced under the supervision of The Ray Charles Foundation, The Complete Performance is pressed on two 180-gram LPs and housed in gatefold packaging with expanded artwork and liner notes.

More than a historical restoration, Ray Charles Live In Concert: The Complete Performance offers the chance to hear an entire evening from one of the most commanding performers in American music. The original Live In Concert was already an essential document. With the missing material finally restored, this new edition reveals just how extraordinary the complete performance really was.

Tracklist

1. “Opening”
2. “Swing a Little Taste”
3. “One Mint Julep”
4. “I Got a Woman”
5. “Georgia On My Mind”
6. “Margie”
7. “You Don’t Know Me”
8. “Hide Nor Hair”
9. “That Lucky Old Sun”
10. “Baby Don’t You Cry”
11. “In The Evening (When the Song Goes Down)”
12. “Hallelujah I Love Her So”
13. “Making Whoopee”
14. “Busted”
15. “Don’t Set Me Free”
16. “Two Ton Tessie”
17. “My Baby”
18. “What’d I Say”
19. “Finale”

Ghost Rhythms’ Missing Times Turns Jazz, Rock, Classical and UFO Lore Into a Mesmerizing Post-Genre Journey

For two decades, the Paris-based ensemble Ghost Rhythms has been building a musical universe that refuses to stay inside conventional genre boundaries. Their latest release, Missing Times, is perhaps their most ambitious statement yet: a sprawling, beautifully constructed tour-de-force that draws equally from jazz, classical music, rock and world music while exploring ideas of time, perception, absence and the enduring mystery of UFOs.

Active in Paris since 2005, Ghost Rhythms has become one of the most distinctive post-genre ensembles on the international scene. The nine-piece collective has won numerous awards and released nine albums, developing a sound defined by morphing drum grooves, infectious bass lines, constantly shifting harmonies, world-music inflections and dizzying odd-meter polyrhythms. The result is music that can be intellectually intricate without sacrificing melody, movement or emotional immediacy.

Missing Times, their third album for Cuneiform Records, takes its conceptual starting point from one particularly strange aspect of UFO mythology: reports of alleged abductees losing their memories of what happened during their supposed encounters. For drummer and guitarist Xavier Gélard, however, the extraterrestrial mythology is ultimately only the doorway into something much more human. As he puts it, the goal was to “decolonize the UFO lore from the UFO” in order to reach the human experience underneath it.

That makes Missing Times less an album about spaceships than an album about disappearance, memory and perception. Those ideas are embedded directly into the music, with rhythmic structures continually shifting and interlocking in ways that challenge the listener’s sense of musical time. Gélard and pianist Camille Petit form the creative center of Ghost Rhythms, and throughout the ensemble’s 20-year history they have explored the relationship between interlocking rhythms and musical feel. On Missing Times, that investigation becomes central to the album’s identity.

Most of the record was recorded live in the studio, and its compositions grew organically from the album’s initial title and concept. Petit describes reaction as a fundamental part of his writing process: musical sections, counterpoints and structural ideas emerge by listening to what has already been created and responding to it. That approach helps explain the remarkable sense of motion throughout the album. Nothing feels static for long. Grooves mutate, melodies rise out of dense textures, and individual instrumental colors suddenly alter the perspective of an entire passage.

The ensemble’s influences are equally wide-ranging. Ghost Rhythms can evoke the rhythmic sophistication of John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet and the genre-blurring instincts of The Bad Plus, while also drawing on progressive-rock innovators such as National Health and the adventurous chamber-rock and avant-prog worlds of Lars Hollmer/Von Zamla, Art Zoyd and Miriodor. Yet Missing Times never feels like an exercise in stylistic collage. The various influences are absorbed into a distinctive collective language of its own.

The album’s opening track, “Quinta del Sordo,” establishes that atmosphere immediately. The piece takes its inspiration from the house where Spanish artist Francisco Goya created his infamous “Black Paintings” in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A growing dissonance moves through the composition, creating a feeling of activity and unease while simultaneously evoking isolation and loss. Gélard connects that emotional dimension to Goya’s increasing deafness and the loneliness that accompanied it, turning a historical reference into a deeply personal meditation on absence.

“Agatha” draws on another disappearance, this time the mysterious 11-day vanishing of author Agatha Christie in 1926. Ghost Rhythms transforms the story into a piece of shifting cinematic grandeur, pairing a noir-inflected melody with soaring chorus and strings. Driving grooves continually change underneath the composition before giving way to a soulful middle section supporting Petit’s plaintive, lyrical piano solo.

Elsewhere, the UFO theme becomes especially vivid on “Aux Grand Absents,” where wordless voices soar above a complex multi-meter rhythmic foundation. Accordion enters with a lighter, almost playful energy, redirecting the listener yet again. The contrast between weight and buoyancy is one of the album’s defining strengths: Ghost Rhythms can make incredibly sophisticated rhythmic music feel inviting, melodic and alive.

The title track takes a different approach. “Missing Times” develops gradually, with Petit’s lonely piano occupying the foreground as the surrounding sound becomes a mysterious investigation into absence itself. It is a strikingly restrained moment on an album otherwise full of rhythmic activity, and that contrast gives the record much of its emotional power.

At the center of the album, track seven, “Vie de Betty and Barney Hill,” is the record’s one lyric-driven composition. Inspired by the famous alleged UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, the piece sounds almost like an imagined meeting between Robert Wyatt and Syd Barrett, with lonely nylon-string guitar arpeggios and strings creating a fragile, dreamlike atmosphere. Its presence might seem unexpected on such an ensemble-focused instrumental record, but it ultimately serves as a crucial point of cohesion, tying the album’s ideas of memory, mystery and human vulnerability together.

That ability to make conceptual music feel emotionally immediate is what makes Missing Times so compelling. The UFO mythology is only one layer. Beneath it are more universal feelings of longing, isolation, uncertainty and the fear of losing something—or someone—that cannot be recovered. In that sense, the album’s thematic territory connects naturally with music as seemingly distant from Ghost Rhythms as Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here: both use absence as a means of exploring the emotional spaces left behind when something disappears.

Musically, Ghost Rhythms are an extraordinarily well-drilled unit, but there is nothing mechanical about their precision. The constantly evolving rhythmic textures create the sensation of a musical organism in motion, with every player contributing to an expansive, interconnected sound. The ensemble includes Guillaume Aventurin on guitar, Julien Bigorgne on flute, Alexis Collin on accordion, Nadia Mejri-Chapelle on cello and vocals, Xavier Gélard on drums, Grégory Kosovski on bass, Morgan Lowenstein on congas, Camille Petit on piano and Rhodes, Maxime Thiébaut on alto and tenor saxophones, Bertrand Aimar on violin, Maxime Berton on soprano saxophone, and Frédéric Garcia as choir director.

The result is an album that is simultaneously intricate and accessible, cerebral and deeply melodic. Missing Times can be approached as modern jazz, chamber music, progressive rock, experimental composition or simply as the work of an ensemble that has stopped worrying about where one genre ends and another begins. Its rhythmic architecture rewards close listening, while its melodies, grooves and cinematic atmosphere provide an immediate way into the music.

Ghost Rhythms have spent 20 years developing the language that makes this possible. On Missing Times, that language reaches a particularly vivid point of expression: an expansive, darkly cinematic and often beautiful record in which jazz, chamber music, rock, world music and progressive experimentation become parts of a single musical landscape. The subject may be UFOs, but the deeper subject is human perception—the things we remember, the things we lose, and the strange spaces that exist between the two.

Louis Armstrong’s Lost 1957 Highland Park Concert Finally Sees the Light on One Night in Highland Park

Nearly 70 years after Louis Armstrong and His All Stars performed before 1,200 fans at Highland Park High School outside Chicago, a remarkable piece of Armstrong history is finally being released. One Night in Highland Park captures the legendary trumpeter and vocalist on March 19, 1957, at a benefit concert for the Highland Park Reform Temple, preserving a performance that might otherwise have disappeared into history.

The first single from the album is the exuberant “Ole Miss,” a tune Armstrong had been performing since his teenage years in New Orleans. The performance captures the sheer joy and spontaneity that made Armstrong such a beloved live performer, while also providing a vivid snapshot of an artist at an extraordinary point in his career.

In 1957, Armstrong was an international superstar and America's celebrated “Ambassador of Goodwill.” His career was enjoying another major surge thanks to the enormous success of “Mack the Knife,” his landmark collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, and his appearance in the film High Society. Just two days before the Highland Park concert, Armstrong had performed two shows at the Chicago Opera House.

Yet despite his increasingly legendary status, Armstrong continued to take his music directly to audiences in high school auditoriums, theaters, clubs, and concert halls across the country. His schedule of one-night engagements was famously demanding, but Armstrong viewed those performances as an essential part of his relationship with his fans.

“I play them because I love music,” Armstrong explained in 1957. “I don’t mind traveling and that’s where the audiences are — in the towns and cities — and that’s what I want, the audience.”

The Highland Park concert survived thanks to the foresight of Joel Goldstein, who was the student stage manager for Armstrong's appearance. Rather than simply watch the historic performance, Goldstein decided to document it. He suspended two Telefunken microphones from a batten and recorded the concert on an Ampex reel-to-reel machine. He then kept the tape for decades, unknowingly preserving a remarkable document of Armstrong's artistry.

The recording finds Armstrong with a particularly strong version of His All Stars, one he personally regarded as his favorite. The lineup features Trummy Young on trombone, Edmond Hall on clarinet, Billy Kyle on piano, Squire Gersh on bass, and Barrett Deems on drums. Together, they provide the ideal setting for Armstrong's trumpet, voice, humor, and unmistakable sense of swing.

The performance moves effortlessly across the broad musical landscape that Armstrong had made his own. “(Back Home Again In) Indiana” and “Tiger Rag” showcase his extraordinary trumpet playing while also highlighting the interplay between Young and Hall. Kyle, Gersh, and Deems provide a rhythm section capable of both driving the band forward and giving the soloists plenty of room to shine.

The mood shifts with “The Gypsy” and the enduring “Blueberry Hill,” while “High Society Calypso” reflects Armstrong's connection to his recent Hollywood success. “Tin Roof Blues” and “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” reach back toward the New Orleans traditions that had shaped him, connecting the international superstar of 1957 with the young musician who had helped transform jazz decades earlier.

Then comes “Mack the Knife,” the contemporary hit that had become Armstrong's biggest record to date. Hearing it in the context of this live performance is particularly revealing: Armstrong was not simply reproducing his hit for an audience. He was folding a new pop phenomenon into a repertoire built from decades of jazz, blues, gospel, popular song, and New Orleans tradition.

The concert concludes with “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” bringing the evening to a fitting close and underscoring Armstrong's unique position in American culture. Few musicians could move so naturally between the worlds of jazz, popular entertainment, film, patriotism, and international diplomacy while retaining such a distinctive artistic identity.

The original recording has been transferred, mixed, and mastered by Kevin Reeves, while the release features liner notes by Ricky Riccardi, the acclaimed Louis Armstrong biographer and Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Riccardi is also a two-time GRAMMY Award winner for Best Album Notes, making him an especially fitting guide to this newly uncovered chapter of Armstrong's career.

One Night in Highland Park is ultimately more than another archival Louis Armstrong release. It is a time capsule of an artist who was already a global icon but remained committed to the simple act of playing for people wherever an audience could be found. Thanks to one student's decision to press the record button in a Chicago-area high school auditorium, listeners nearly seven decades later can experience the energy, humor, musicianship, and humanity of Louis Armstrong and His All Stars on one extraordinary night in 1957.

One Night in Highland Park — Track Listing

Side A

1. “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” — 3:49
2. “(Back Home Again In) Indiana” — 4:23
3. “The Gypsy” — 4:46
4. “Ole Miss” — 6:20
5. “High Society Calypso” — 2:51

Side B

1. “Blueberry Hill” — 3:23
2. “Tin Roof Blues” — 5:07
3. “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” — 5:00
4. “Mack the Knife” — 3:25
5. “Tiger Rag” — 2:20
6. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — 3:41
7. “The Star-Spangled Banner” — 2:20 

Art Blakey’s Blue Moon Over Paris Captures the Jazz Messengers at Full Power

Few bandleaders in jazz created a lasting musical legacy quite like Art Blakey. As the driving force behind the Jazz Messengers, Blakey was both a hard-swinging star in his own right and a mentor who provided generations of young musicians with a place to learn, experiment, develop their voices, and eventually become stars themselves. Blue Moon Over Paris, a limited-edition 180-gram 2LP set from Elemental Music, captures that extraordinary legacy across two performances recorded five and a half years apart in Paris.

Released as an exclusive Record Store Day Black Friday title on November 27, 2026, the collection brings together performances from April 1963 and November 1968, offering a fascinating portrait of Blakey at two very different moments in his career. The musical circumstances had changed dramatically, but Blakey's energy, authority, and commitment to the music remained undiminished.

The 1963 performance at Paris's L'Olympia Theatre features one of the most celebrated Jazz Messengers lineups ever assembled. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Cedar Walton, and bassist Reggie Workman were all still relatively young musicians, but each would go on to become a major figure in jazz. Blakey's band was already known as a finishing school for emerging talent, and this performance demonstrates exactly why.

From the explosive opening of “Moon River” through the dramatic closing performance of “Caravan,” the sextet plays with astonishing collective intensity. Shorter, Hubbard, and Fuller attack their solos with remarkable freedom and confidence, while Walton and Workman receive memorable showcases on “That Old Feeling” and “Buhaina's Delight.” Blakey is everywhere, driving the band with his unmistakable thunder, providing introductions, fills, and solos that sound as though he might dismantle his drum kit in the process.

Yet the real magic is the chemistry between the musicians. These were extraordinary individual talents, but Blakey's genius was his ability to turn those talents into a cohesive, combustible unit. Every musician listens and responds to the others, creating the sense that the entire band is moving as one organism.

The second performance, recorded on November 6, 1968, at the Salle Pleyel during the fifth annual Paris Jazz Festival, offers an entirely different chapter. Jazz, America, France, and Blakey's own career had all entered more complicated territory. Blakey was in the midst of a six-year recording drought, leaving this particular sextet among his least documented and most overlooked lineups.

The musicians were no less formidable. Trumpeter Bill Hardman was a veteran Messenger who had returned to the group, while tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, trombonist Julian Priester, and pianist Ronnie Mathews represented another generation of musicians with major futures ahead of them. Bassist Lawrence Evans, despite his extraordinary ability, remained a comparatively obscure figure whose appearance here makes the performance even more intriguing.

If this edition of the Jazz Messengers was less documented, it certainly was not less powerful. The band tears into extended performances of “Slide No. 1,” “Blues for Eros,” and Blakey's signature “Moanin'” with the kind of muscular, fearless playing that defined the leader's best ensembles. Between those extended workouts come more reflective performances of “You Don't Know What Love Is,” featuring Harper, and “Blue Moon,” which gives Hardman a showcase.

Priester delivers memorable statements throughout the set, while Evans provides a stunning unaccompanied bass solo during “Moanin'.” But once again, Blakey's greatest achievement is the band itself. His drumming provides the foundation and his leadership gives the musicians room to take risks, creating precisely the kind of environment in which young jazz artists could flourish.

Blue Moon Over Paris is part of producer Zev Feldman's ongoing collaboration with France's Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA), which oversees the archives of French state radio and television. Feldman has now collaborated with INA on 14 productions through Elemental Music and Resonance Records, helping bring important performances from the archives to modern listeners.

The album was mastered from the original tapes by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab in Salina, Kansas, and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at GZ Media in the Czech Republic. The CD and digital editions will follow on December 4, 2026.

The deluxe package expands the historical picture with a new liner essay by award-winning jazz journalist Bob Blumenthal, interviews with Billy Harper, Julian Priester, and acclaimed drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, and reflections from Blakey's son Takashi Blakey on his father's deep connection to Paris.

Taken together, the two performances offer more than an anthology of great Jazz Messengers lineups. They tell the story of Blakey as teacher, taskmaster, drummer, bandleader, and guardian of a musical tradition. The 1963 sextet documents a group of future legends already discovering the full extent of their abilities, while the 1968 performance reveals Blakey continuing to nurture adventurous musicians during a comparatively underdocumented period.

Decades after Blakey's death, his influence remains woven into modern jazz. Many of today's young musicians trace their lineage not directly to Blakey, but to the musicians he mentored and the generations they subsequently inspired. Blue Moon Over Paris brings that legacy back into sharp focus, reminding listeners why Art Blakey wasn't simply one of jazz's great drummers. He was one of its great architects. 

Stan Getz and João Gilberto Reunite in San Francisco on a Remarkable New 3LP Set

A legendary chapter in jazz history returns to vinyl this Record Store Day Black Friday with The Sound in San Francisco: Live at Keystone Korner, a remarkable collection documenting a May 1976 residency by the Stan Getz Quartet with special guest João Gilberto. Resonance Records will release the set as an exclusive three-LP edition on November 27, 2026, bringing together recordings that capture two giants of jazz and bossa nova in an intimate club setting.

Recorded at San Francisco's legendary Keystone Korner and preserved in the club's archive by owner Todd Barkan, the performances offer a fascinating snapshot of Getz and Gilberto more than a decade after their groundbreaking collaboration on Getz/Gilberto. The original tapes were transferred and initially restored and mastered by George Klabin and Fran Gala in 2016, with Bernie Grundman newly mastering the material for this vinyl edition. The three 180-gram LPs are pressed at 33 1/3 rpm by Le Vinylist in Québec City.

The recordings have an unusual history. Resonance previously issued the material across two releases in 2016: Getz/Gilberto ’76, which gathered performances featuring Gilberto, and Moments in Time, which focused on Getz performing with his quartet. The Sound in San Francisco brings those two projects together for the first time, while also marking the first vinyl release of Moments in Time. Copies of Getz/Gilberto ’76 on vinyl have already become highly sought after, making this new three-LP edition particularly appealing to collectors.

The musical reunion itself was a rare event. Although Getz and Gilberto had helped introduce bossa nova to an international audience with their landmark 1964 recordings, they worked together surprisingly few times. Beyond those historic sessions and a 1975 studio reunion, the Keystone Korner engagement represents only one of a handful of occasions when the two performed together. Their final shared engagement would come at the 1978 Newport Jazz Festival.

Gilberto's performances at Keystone Korner capture the understated beauty that made him such an influential figure. His versions of “Aguas de Março,” “Chega Saudade,” and “Doralice” are lively without losing their characteristic delicacy, while “E Preciso Perdoar,” “Retrato Em Branco E Preto,” and “Rosa Morena” reveal his extraordinary ability to make a performance feel intimate even in a live club environment.

The setting was also significant. The Keystone engagement was designed in part to promote the reunion album The Best of Two Worlds, and Barkan was willing to pay substantially more than his usual weekly artist budget to bring the musicians to the club. The investment paid off as audiences turned out in force to witness the reunion.

But The Sound in San Francisco is not simply another Getz/Gilberto release. Roughly half of the collection documents Getz leading a remarkable modern jazz quartet featuring pianist Joanne Brackeen, drummer Billy Hart, and bassist Clint Houston. The group moves effortlessly between hard-swinging performances such as “Summer Night” and “Morning Star,” lyrical ballads including “Peace” and “Infant Eyes,” and the unusually funky “Cry of the Wild Goose” by Kenny Wheeler.

These performances reveal Getz in a different environment—surrounded by musicians who were not content simply to accompany him. Brackeen recalls a fearless band that would take the music wherever it could go, while Hart remembers the atmosphere as both celebratory and deeply respectful. The musicians understood that they were sharing the stage with icons, but they also brought their own adventurous personalities to the music.

That combination makes the quartet recordings just as compelling as the Gilberto material. Getz, then 49, was at an interpretive peak, balancing his unmistakably lyrical tenor sound with the freedom and daring of a modern jazz ensemble. The performances show a bandleader willing to challenge himself and his musicians rather than simply recreate the sound that had made him famous.

The deluxe LP and CD editions also feature extensive contextual material, including essays by acclaimed jazz journalists James Gavin and Ted Panken, recollections from Barkan and bossa nova legend Carlos Lyra, testimonials from surviving quartet members Joanne Brackeen and Billy Hart, and reflections from Getz's late son, Steve Getz. Together, these contributions place the Keystone performances within the broader story of Getz, Gilberto, and the remarkable cultural impact of bossa nova.

The timing makes the release even more significant. 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the Keystone Korner engagement, the 60th anniversary of Getz/Gilberto #2, and the 99th anniversary of Stan Getz's birth. With Getz's centenary approaching in 2027, The Sound in San Francisco arrives as an especially fitting celebration of an artist whose career continually evolved without sacrificing his unmistakable musical identity.

For jazz collectors, bossa nova devotees, and anyone drawn to historic live recordings, The Sound in San Francisco: Live at Keystone Korner offers something unusually rich: the chance to hear João Gilberto and Stan Getz reconnect in an intimate club, while also discovering Getz stretching out with one of the most adventurous quartets of his later career. It is both a reunion document and a portrait of an artist still pushing forward—and a fitting addition to Resonance Records' remarkable tradition of bringing important jazz recordings back into the spotlight. 

Bobby Womack’s “The Preacher In Paris” Brings a Fiery 1976 Performance to Record Store Day Black Friday

 

Record Store Day Black Friday 2026 is set to receive a powerful dose of vintage soul with Bobby Womack: The Preacher In Paris: Live At The Elysee Montmartre, a previously unreleased live recording capturing one of soul music’s greatest performers at the height of his powers.

Due November 27, 2026, through Elemental Music in cooperation with L'Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA), the deluxe two-LP set transports listeners to Paris on March 15, 1976, where Womack and his formidable touring band delivered a blistering performance at the historic L'Élysée Montmartre. A CD edition will follow on December 4.

Drawn from the ORTF's original tape reels of the concert, the new 180-gram double album presents Womack in full command as singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and bandleader. The tapes have been remastered and restored by Marc Doutrepont at EQuuS Mastering and Restoration Studio in Brussels, while award-winning archivist Zev Feldman produced the project in collaboration with the Bobby Womack Estate and INA.

The result promises to be more than a historical document. Womack's live performances had a special intensity, combining gospel conviction, soul sophistication, blues feeling, and funk. In Paris, that combination was on full display as he tore through songs from his celebrated catalog, including “Harry Hippie,” “That’s The Way I Feel About ‘Cha,” and “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out.” He also revisited the Valentinos classics “It’s All Over Now” and “Lookin’ For A Love,” songs that connected his early family-group roots with his successful solo career.

Womack was backed by an exceptional ensemble that included Ian McLagan of Small Faces and Faces on keyboards, alongside Charles Fullilove on guitar, Lester Smith on trumpet, Dashiell Humdy on saxophone, Zaimos Rowan on trombone, Vince Melamed on keys, Veyler Hildebrand on bass, and Bill Braun on drums. Together, they gave the performance a muscular, deeply soulful sound that allowed Womack's voice and storytelling to remain at the center.

The title “The Preacher” was more than a nickname. Womack's performances carried the emotional force of a sermon, and his songs often sounded like personal testimony—stories of love, heartbreak, struggle, redemption, and survival. That quality is particularly powerful in this Paris performance, where the ballroom atmosphere becomes something closer to a sanctified church than a conventional concert hall.

The release also represents an important archival collaboration. Elemental Music and INA have previously worked together on numerous projects, with Feldman having collaborated with INA on 14 productions through Elemental Music and Resonance Records. For The Preacher In Paris, the partnership has opened another remarkable window onto a pivotal moment in music history.

The deluxe package features rare photographs from the concert by legendary French photographer Jean-Pierre Leloir, while veteran music journalist Kevin L. Goins contributes the liner notes. The Womack family also offers a heartfelt reflection on the release, celebrating the fans who have kept his music alive and describing the 1976 recording as a glimpse into the genius of “The Poet.”

Womack's story stretches across generations. He began in gospel with his siblings as the Womack Brothers before the family group evolved into the Valentinos and recorded such enduring songs as “Lookin’ For A Love” and “It’s All Over Now,” the latter famously covered by the Rolling Stones. His solo career in the 1970s established him as a major force in soul and pop, and his influence continued through the 1980s and 1990s. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Preacher In Paris offers a rare opportunity to hear that legacy in motion. Rather than simply documenting a celebrated artist, the recording captures Bobby Womack doing what he did best: standing in front of an audience and turning songs into testimony. For collectors, soul fans, and anyone fascinated by the golden era of live R&B, this Record Store Day Black Friday release looks set to be one of the year's most compelling archival discoveries. 

Brian Culbertson Celebrates 30 Albums With The Midnight Tapes

Three decades into a career defined by jazz, funk, soul and an unmistakable keyboard-driven sound, Brian Culbertson is celebrating a remarkable milestone: his 30th album.

The Midnight Tapes arrives February 5, 2027, and represents one of the contemporary jazz favorite’s most ambitious creative undertakings to date. Culbertson not only wrote, produced, arranged, engineered and mixed the nine-track collection — he played every instrument on it, 44 in total.

The list of instruments reads like a tour through decades of American music: piano, bass, drums, guitar, trumpet, trombone, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3 and a wide range of percussion all found their way into the sessions. Remarkably, the entire album was written, recorded and mixed in just three months.

Even more remarkably, none of it was really planned.

“This album was kind of an accident, as I never planned to play everything myself,” Culbertson says.

The project began as an experiment with a vintage 1970s drum kit. After friends Nicholas Cole and Adrian Crutchfield encouraged him to keep going, what started as a test quickly evolved into a full-fledged album — one that allowed Culbertson to take complete control of every sonic detail.

The result is The Midnight Tapes, a record steeped in the late-night atmosphere that has long provided fertile ground for jazz, while retaining Culbertson’s signature blend of groove-heavy funk, soulful melodies and contemporary jazz sophistication. It’s a decidedly personal project, built almost entirely from the ground up by one musician.

The album also finds Culbertson paying tribute to one of funk’s enduring classics with his interpretation of Bootsy Collins’ “I’d Rather Be With You.” The cover earned an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Collins himself, adding another meaningful connection to a record rooted in the spirit of vintage funk and soul.

Culbertson will offer the first taste of The Midnight Tapes with “’76 Monte Carlo,” a funky, nostalgic single that premieres October 5 on SiriusXM Watercolors before arriving digitally November 27.

The nine-song album moves from the retro groove of “’76 Monte Carlo” through tracks including “Before We Kiss,” “Cool With Me,” “You Got It,” “Can’t Stop Love,” “Let’s Talk About It,” “In Your Arms” and “Shared Memories,” alongside “I’d Rather Be With You.”

With 30 albums now behind him and a new one created through an unusually hands-on process, Culbertson is turning a happy accident into a milestone — and The Midnight Tapes promises to be one of his most distinctive chapters yet. 

Bill Withers’ Essential Early Albums Collected in One Definitive 3CD Set

Bill Withers never needed excess to make a song feel enormous. His voice could carry tenderness, weariness, humor and hard-earned wisdom in the space of a single line, while his songs often sounded as if they had been built from the simplest possible materials: an acoustic guitar, a groove, a few carefully placed chords and a story worth telling. Across the first half of the 1970s, that understated approach produced some of soul music’s most enduring recordings.

A new three-CD collection brings together five landmark Withers albums—Just As I Am, Still Bill, Justments, Making Music and Live At Carnegie Hall—offering a compact portrait of an artist whose influence has only grown with time. Released through Sussex/Robinsongs, the set gathers the early recordings that established Withers as one of the singular voices of American soul, from his breakthrough classics to an expansive live performance that reveals just how powerful his music could become onstage.

The journey begins with Just As I Am, Withers’ remarkable debut. Produced and arranged by Booker T. Jones, the album immediately established the qualities that would define Withers’ work: deeply personal songwriting, a warm but unmistakably rough-edged voice, and an ability to bring folk and acoustic sensibilities into sophisticated early-1970s soul.

It is difficult to imagine a stronger introduction. Although Just As I Am was not designed as a greatest-hits collection, it contains several songs that would become permanent fixtures of Withers’ repertoire, including “Grandma’s Hands,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Harlem” and “Hope She’ll Be Happier.” Elsewhere, tracks such as “Better Off Dead” reveal another side of his writing, combining conversational storytelling with grooves that give the music an easy, lived-in momentum.

Booker T. Jones’ presence is crucial to the album’s sound. His arrangements and electric piano playing provide a framework that allows Withers’ songs to breathe rather than overwhelming them. The result is music that feels carefully constructed without ever sounding overly constructed—a balance that would become central to Withers’ appeal.

If Just As I Am announced a major new talent, Still Bill confirmed that he was something much more unusual. His second album refined the formula without sanding away its rough edges, bringing together warm production, acoustic guitar, understated arrangements and songwriting that felt simultaneously intimate and universal.

“Lean On Me” would become the obvious cultural giant, eventually transforming into one of the most recognizable songs in the American popular canon. But the strength of Still Bill goes well beyond its best-known track. “Use Me” locks into a funky, almost hypnotic groove, while “Kissing My Love” moves with a relaxed sensuality. “Who Is He (And What Is He To You)” has a sharper edge, and “Lonely Town Lonely Street” captures Withers’ ability to make loneliness feel specific rather than abstract.

That combination—plainspoken writing, subtle musicianship and emotional directness—is what makes the album continue to feel remarkably contemporary. Withers did not write as though he were trying to create timeless music. He wrote about people, relationships, neighborhoods and everyday emotional contradictions with such precision that the songs simply outlasted their era.

Justments, his third album, occupies a slightly different place in the story. Released while Withers remained with Sussex Records, it is sometimes overshadowed by the enormous records that came before it, yet it offers a deeper and more intimate view of his musical personality.

The familiar ingredients remain: the distinctive voice, acoustic foundations and an instinctive sense of groove. But there is also more funk in the arrangements and a greater willingness to explore keyboards and unusual production touches. The songs carry a conversational, world-weary quality, as though Withers has stepped away from the broad declarations of his earlier records and begun speaking more directly to the listener.

Tracks such as “You,” “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh,” “Heartbreak Road,” “Green Grass,” “Ruby Lee” and “Can We Pretend” reinforce that intimacy. “Stories,” with its harp-accented piano, reveals a more atmospheric side, while “Railroad Man” closes the album with a loose, percussion-driven momentum.

There is a sense throughout Justments of an artist refusing to stand still. Withers’ music remained recognizably his own, but he continued to test how far his combination of acoustic songwriting and soul rhythm could travel.

Making Music then marks another significant transition: Withers’ move from Sussex Records to Columbia and the beginning of another important phase in his career. The album carries forward the roots established earlier in the decade but places them inside smoother, more keyboard-driven grooves.

Larry Nash handles arrangements and plays keyboards alongside Dave Grusin, while electric piano becomes an especially important color. The result is sophisticated without losing the emotional directness that had made Withers’ earlier work so distinctive.

“Hello Like Before” stands among the album’s highlights, while “The Best You Can,” “Make Love To Your Mind,” “Paint Your Pretty Picture” and “Don’t You Want To Stay” demonstrate the breadth of Withers’ late-1970s songwriting. His voice remains the anchor: that raspy, immediately recognizable sound that could make a romantic confession, a philosophical observation or an everyday complaint feel equally believable.

Then comes Live At Carnegie Hall, the collection’s expansive live centerpiece and, in many ways, its most revealing document.

Recorded in front of an enthusiastic audience, the double live album presents Withers in a setting where the intimacy of his songwriting becomes even more pronounced. The arrangements are stripped down, giving the acoustic elements of his music room to breathe and allowing the relationship between performer and audience to become part of the experience.

The set includes “For My Friend,” “World Keeps Going Around,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Use Me,” “Harlem/Cold Baloney,” “Better Off Dead,” “Hope She’ll Be Happy” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Hearing these songs in concert changes their proportions. Familiar melodies become looser and more conversational, while the audience energy gives the performances an immediacy that studio recordings cannot quite replicate.

“Grandma’s Hands,” in particular, takes on an almost communal quality, while “Use Me” demonstrates how effectively Withers could stretch a groove without sacrificing the song itself. The live versions reveal the architecture beneath the records: the rhythmic spaces, the vocal phrasing and the understated musicianship that made his songs work so well in the first place.

Taken together, the five albums tell a larger story than a conventional greatest-hits package. They document the evolution of an artist who never needed to chase trends because his musical identity was already unusually complete. The early work is soulful without being confined by genre, acoustic without becoming folk, funky without becoming dependent on rhythm, and sophisticated without losing its human scale.

That balance is ultimately what makes Withers’ catalog so durable. “Ain’t No Sunshine” can function as a devastating portrait of absence; “Lean On Me” can become a communal anthem; “Use Me” can still sound effortlessly funky; and “Grandma’s Hands” can turn a deeply personal memory into something universal. These songs do not depend on elaborate mythology. They survive because the emotions inside them remain recognizable.

This three-CD collection provides a particularly useful way to hear that progression. Just As I Am captures the arrival of a singular songwriter. Still Bill expands his vocabulary and delivers several of his most enduring songs. Justments reveals a more reflective and exploratory artist. Making Music follows him into a new label and a more keyboard-oriented sound. And Live At Carnegie Hall places the entire approach in front of an audience, where the songs reveal their full warmth and flexibility.

Together, the albums make the case for Withers not simply as the creator of a handful of soul standards, but as a remarkably consistent album artist. His greatest strength was never spectacle. It was clarity—the ability to take something complicated and make it sound as though he were sitting across the room explaining it to you.

More than half a century after these recordings first appeared, that quality remains unmistakable. Bill Withers’ music still sounds lived-in, generous and honest, and this five-album collection offers a substantial window into the body of work that made him one of soul music’s most enduring voices.