At the end of the book, I have suggested playlists for those who want to download individual tracks from each of the artists profiled here. These are my recommendations; other critics and longtime listeners probably have their own favorites. But I will say that a reader who chooses to add these files to their library will be in the possession of a valuable cache of music representing the best of what has taken place in jazz in the last 15 years. I have arranged the playlists into five CD-length groupings; one for Living Masters, and two each for Prime Time Players and Rising Stars. All links are to Amazon.com, except for Dave Holland and Charles Lloyd, which are linked to Grooveshark.
Living Masters
1. Randy Weston/Billy Harper, Body and Soul
(Randy Weston, piano; Billy Harper, tenor saxophone. Recorded Feb. 8-9, 2013. From the album The Roots of the Blues (Sunnyside/Universal France).
2. Roy Haynes, Now’s the Time
(C. Parker). Roy Haynes, drums; Kenny Garrett, alto saxophone; Roy Hargrove, trumpet; Dave Holland, bass; Dave Kikoski, piano. Recorded March 26-27, 2001. From the album Birds of a Feather; A Tribute to Charlie Parker (Dreyfus Jazz/Koch International).
3. Dave Holland, Choir (E. Harland). Dave Holland, bass; Craig Taborn, piano; Kevin Eubanks, guitar; Eric Harland, drums. From the album Prism (Dare2). Released Sept. 2, 2013.
4. Pat Martino, El Hombre (Live)
(P. Martino). Pat Martino, guitar; Joey DeFrancesco, Hammond B-3 organ; Billy Hart, drums. Recorded Dec. 15-17, 2000. From the album Live at Yoshi’s (Blue Note).
5. Andy Bey, Angel Eyes
(EK Brent/M. Dennis). Andy Bey, vocals; Paul Meyers, guitar; Kiyoshi Kitagawa, bass; Mark McLean, drums; Mino Cinelu, percussion, Recorded Nov. 4-16, 2003. From the album American Song (Savoy Jazz).
6. Ray Barretto and New World Spirit, The Mooche
(D. Ellington). Ray Barretto, congas; Adam Kolker and Joe Lovano, saxophones; John Bailey, trumpet; Steve Turre, trombone; John Di Martino, piano; Kenny Burrell, guitar; Eddie Gomez, bass; Vince Cherico, drums; Bobby Sanabria, percussion. From the album Portraits in Jazz and Clave (BMG France). Released Jan. 11, 2000.
7. Kenny Barron and Regina Carter, Freefall
(K. Barron/R. Carter). Kenny Barron, piano; Regina Carter, violin. Recorded De. 19-20, 2000. From the album Freefall (Verve).
8. Charles Lloyd Quartet, Rabo de Nube (S. Rodriguez). Charles Lloyd, reeds; Jason Moran, piano; Ruben Rogers, bass; Eric Harland, drums. Recorded April 24, 2007. From the album Rabo de Nube (ECM).
9. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Good Morning Heartache
(E. Drake/D. Fisher/I. Higgenbotham). Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocals; Edsel Gomez, piano; Christian McBride, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; James Carter, bass clarinet. Recorded June 5-7, 2009. From the album Eleanora Fagan: To Billie with Love (DDB/Universal International).
10. Bebo Valdes & Chucho Valdes, Descarga Valdes
(B. & Ch. Valdes). Bebo Valdes, piano; Chucho Valdes, piano. Recorded June 26-27, 2007. From the album Juntos para Siempre (Sony Music Latin).
11. The Cookers, Free For All
(W. Shorter). Billy Harper, tenor saxophone; Eddie Henderson, trumpet; David Weiss, trumpet; Craig Handy, alto saxophone; George Cables, piano; Cecil McBee, bass; Billy Hart, drums. Recorded March 27-28, 2012. From the album Believe (Motema Music).
12. Wayne Shorter Quartet, Orbits
(W. Shorter). Wayne Shorter, tenor and soprano saxophone; Danilo Perez, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Brian Blade, drums. From the album Without a Net (Blue Note). Released Feb. 5, 2013.
Prime Time Players I Playlist
1. Danilo Perez, Suite For The Americas, Part 1
(D. Perez). Danilo Perez, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; Antonio Sanchez, drums; Regina Carter, violin; Luciana Souza, vocals; Chris Potter, soprano saxophone; Luisito Quintero and Ricaurte Villareal, percussion. Recorded Feb. 28-March 3, 2000. From the album Motherland (Verve).
2. Jane Ira Bloom, Pacific
(J.I. Bloom). Jane Ira Bloom, soprano saxophone; Vincent Bourgeyx, piano; Mark Dresser, bass; Bobby Previte, drums. Recorded June 28-29, 2000. From the album Sometimes the Magic (Arabesque).
3. Kevin Mahogany, Pussy Cat Dues
(C. Mingus). Kevin Mahogany, vocals; Jimmy Knepper, trombone, Charles McPherson, alto saxophone; John Goldsby, bass; Dennis Mackrel, drums; with the WDR Big Band arranged and conducted by Bill Dobbins. From the album Pussy Cat Dues: The Music of Charles Mingus (Enja). Released July 11, 2000.
4. Joshua Redman, Molten Soul
(J. Redman). Joshua Redman, saxophones; Sam Yahel, keyboards; Brian Blade, drums. Recorded March, 2002. From the album Elastic (Warner Bros).
5. Jacky Terrasson, Parisian Thoroughfare
(B. Powell). Jacky Terrasson, piano; Sean Smith, bass; Eric Harland, drums. Recorded June 12-21, 2002. From the album Smile (Blue Note).
6. Joe Lovano Us Five, Powerhouse
(J. Lovano). Joe Lovano, saxophones; James Weidman, piano; Esperanza Spalding, bass; Otis Brown III, drums and percussion; Francisco Mela, drums and percussion. Recorded Nov. 18-19, 2008. From the album Folk Art (Blue Note).
7. Kurt Elling, In The Winelight
(music by W. Eaton, lyrics by K. Elling and P. Goldston). Kurt Elling, vocals; Lawrence Hobgood, piano; Rob Amster, bass; Frank Parker, Jr., drums; Stefon Harris, vibraphone; Jim Gailloreto, soprano saxophone. Recorded Jan. 13-17, 2003. From the album Man in the Air (Blue Note).
8. Bobby Sanabria, Shaw Nuff
(D. Gillespie/C. Parker). Bobby Sanabria, drums; Jay Collins, reeds; John di Martino, piano; Boris Kozlov, bass. Recorded Dec. 19-23, 2001. From the album Quarteto Ache! (Khaeon).
9. Dave Douglas, Strange Liberation
(D. Douglas). Dave Douglas, trumpet; Clarence Penn, drums; Chris Potter, reeds; Uri Caine, Fender Rhodes electric piano; Bill Frisell, guitar; James Genus, bass. From the album Strange Liberation (Bluebird/Arista). Released Jan. 27, 2004.
10. Omar Sosa, Ollu
(O. Sosa). Omar Sosa, keyboards; Julio Barretto, drums; Childo Tomas, bass; plus additional horns, percussion and vocals. Recorded Jan., 2007. From the album Afreecanos (Ota).
11. Regina Carter, Don’t Mess With Mr. T
(M. Gaye). Regina Carter, violin; Werner “Vana” Gierig, piano; Darryl Hall, bass; Lewis Nash, drums; Mayra Casales, percussion. Recorded April 19-25, 2000. From the album Motor City Moments (Verve).
Prime Time Players II Playlist
1. Greg Osby, Jitterbug Waltz(F. Waller). Greg Osby, reeds; Gary Thomas, reeds; Andrew Hill, piano; Jim Hall, guitar; Scott Colley, bass; Terri Lyne Carrington, drums. From the album The Invisible Hand (Blue Note). Released Feb. 29, 2000.
2. Cyrus Chestnut, It’s Now Or Never
(A. Shroeder/A. Gold). Cyrus Chetnut, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass; Neil Smith, drums. Recorded April 3-4, 2007. From the album Cyrus Plays Elvis (Koch).
3. Roy Hargrove Quintet, Bring It On Home To Me
(S. Cooke). Roy Hargrove, trumpet; Justin Robinson, alto saxophone; Gerald Clayton, piano; Danton Boller, bass; Montez Coleman, drums. Recorded Sept. 19-21, 2007. From the album Earfood (Groovin’ High).
4. Kenny Garrett, Beyond the Wall
(K. Garrett). Kenny Garrett, alto saxophone; Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone; Mulgrew Miller, piano; Robert Hurst III, bass; Brian Blade, drums. Recorded Feb. 19-21, 2006.
5. Dianne Reeves, How High the Moon
(N. Hamilton/M. Lewis). Dianne Reeves, vocal; Matt Catingub, tenor saxophone; Peter Martin, piano; Jeff Hamilton, drums; Cristoph Luty, bass. From the album Good Night, and Good Luck (Concord Jazz). Released Sept. 27, 2005.
6. Stefon Harris and Blackout, Gone
(G. Gershwin/I. Gershwin/D. Heyward). Stefon Harris, vibraphone and marimba; Marc Cary, keyboards; Ben Williams, bass; Terreon Gully, drums; Casey Benjamin, alto saxophone; Y.C. Laws, percussion; plus a five-piece woodwind section. Recorded Jan. 13-15, 2009. From the album Urbanus (Concord Jazz).
7. Russell Malone, Pecan Pie
(R. Malone). Russell Malone, guitar; David Wong, bass; Montez Coleman, drums. From the album Triple Play (MaxJazz). Released Nov. 2, 2010.
8. Ravi Coltrane, For Turiya
(C. Haden). Ravi Coltrane, tenor saxophone, Charlie Haden, bass; Brandee Younger, harp. Recorded Sept. 27, 2007. From the album Blending Times (Savoy Jazz).
9. Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Theme For Kareem
(F. Hubbard). Christian McBride, bass; Carl Allen, drums; Eric Scott Reed, piano, Steve Wilson, saxophones; Warren Wolf, Jr., vibraphone. From the album Kind of Brown (Mack Avenue). Released June 16, 2009.
10. Cassandra Wilson, “Saddle Up My Pony
(C. Patton). Cassandra Wilson, vocals; Marvin Sewell, guitar; Reginald Veal, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; Jonathan Batiste, piano; LcKan Babalola, percussion. From the album Silver Pony (Ojah/Blue Note). Released Nov. 9, 2010.
11. Don Byron New Gospel Quintet, Sham Time
(E. Harris). Don Byron, reeds; DK Dyson, vocals; Xavier Davis, piano; Brad Jones, bass; Pheeroan Aklaff, drums; Brandon Ross, guitar. Recorded July, 2011. From the album Love, Peace, and Soul (Savoy Jazz).
12. Terri Lyne Carrington, Money Jungle
(D. Ellington). Terri Lyne Carrington, drums; Gerald Clayton, piano; Christian McBride, drums; plus public domain speech audio clips. From the album Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (Concord Jazz). Released Feb. 5, 2013.
Rising Stars Playlist 1
1. Jason Moran, I’ll Play The Blues For You
(J. Beach). Jason Moran, piano; Marvin Sewell, guitars; Tarus Mateen, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums. Recorded May 15-16, 2004. From the album Same Mother (Blue Note).
2. Luciana Souza, Here It Is
(L. Cohen/S. Robinson). Luciana Souza, vocals; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone; Romero Lubamba, guitar; Edward Simon, piano; Scott Colley, bass; Antonio Sanchez, drums and percussion. From the album The New Bossa Nova (Verve). Released Aug. 21, 2007.
3. Lizz Wright, Salt
(L. Wright). Lizz Wright, vocals; Derrick Gardner, trumpet; Vincent Gardner, trombone; Myron Walden, alto saxophone; Kenny Banks, piano and organ; John Hart, guitar, Doug Weiss, bass; Terreon Gully, drums. Recorded August and December, 2002. From the album Salt (Verve).
4. Hiromi, Green Tea Farm
(H. Uehara). Hiromi, piano. Recorded Dec. 9-11, 2003. From the album Brain (Telarc).
5. Pablo Aslan, La Calle 92
(A. Piazzolla). Pablo Aslan, bass; Leonardo Suarez Paz, violin; Hector Del Curto, bandoneon; Diego Urcola, trumpet; Oscar Feldman, tenor saxophone; Dario Eskenazi, piano. Recorded Sept./Oct. 2003. From the album Avantango (Zoho).
6. Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Norah Jones, Let It Ride [feat. Norah Jones]
(M. Abdul-Karim/R. Glasper). Norah Jones, vocals; Robert Glasper, keyboards; Casey Benjamin, reeds and vocoder; Derrick Hodge, bass; Mark Colenburg, drums. From the album Black Radio 2 (Blue Note). Released Oct. 29, 2013.
7. Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa, The Shape of Things
(V. Iyer/R. Mahanthappa). Vijay Iyer, piano; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone. Recorded Oct. 4, 2005. From the album Raw Materials (Savoy Jazz).
8. The Bad Plus, Life On Mars
(D. Bowie). Reid Anderson, bass; Ethan Iverson, piano; David King, drums. Recorded Sept., 2006. From the album Prog (Heads Up).
9. Miguel Zenon, Penta
(M. Zenon). Miguel Zenon, alto saxophone; Luis Perdomo, piano; Hans Glawischnig, bass; Henry Cole, drums and percussion. Recorded April 2-4, 2007. From the album Awake (Marsalis Music).
10. Dafnis Prieto Sextet, The Sooner the Better
(D. Prieto). Peter Apfelbaum and Yosvany Terry, saxophones; Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Yunior Terry, bass; Manuel Valera, piano; Dafnis Prieto, drums. Recorded Oct. 2007. From the album Taking the Soul for a Walk (Dafnison Music).
11. Esperanza Spalding, Ponta De Areia
(B Rocha/M. Nascimento). Esperanza Spalding, vocals and bass; Leo Genovese, piano; Gretchen Parlato, background vocals; Jamey Haddad, percussion; Otis Brown, drums. From the album Esperanza (Heads Up). Released May 20, 2008.
Rising Stars Playlist 2
1. Ben Allison & Man Size Safe, Little Things Run the World
(B. Allison). Ben Allison, bass; Ron Horton, trumpet and fluegelhorn; Steve Cardenas, guitar; Michael Sarin, drums; Michael Blake, saxophones. Recorded Aug. 17-18, 2007. From the album Little Things Run the World (Palmetto).
2. Brandon Lee, Blee’s Blues?
(B. Lee). Brandon Lee, trumpet; Michael Dease, trombone; Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; Mayuko Katakura, piano; Philip Kuehn, bass; Marcus Gilmore, drums. Recorded No. 14-15, 2006. From the album From Within (Wren Tang).
3. Anat Cohen, Washington Square Park
(A. Cohen). Anat Cohen, clarinet and soprano saxophone; Jason Lindner, keyboards; Omer Avital, bass; Daniel Freedman, drums and percussion; Gilad Hekselman, guitar. Recorded May 14-15, 2008. From the album Notes from the Village (Anzic).
4. Tierney Sutton Band, Long Daddy Green
(D. Frishberg/B. Dearie). Tierney Sutton, vocals; Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, bass; Ray Brinker, drums. Recorded Sept. 3-5, 2008. From the album Desire (Telarc).
5. Lionel Loueke, Ami O
(E. Manfred). Lionel Loueke, guitar and vocals; Angelique Kidjo, vocals. From the album Mwaliko (Blue Note). Released Feb. 9, 2010.
6. Tia Fuller, Decisive Steps
(T. Fuller). Tia Fuller, alto saxophone; Shamie Royston, piano; Miriam Sullivan, bass; Kim Thompson, drums. From the album Decisive Steps (Mack Avenue). Released March 16, 2010.
7. Ambrose Akinmusire, What’s New
(B. Haggart/J. Burke). Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet; Gerald Clayton, piano. Recorded Sept. 20-22, 2010. From the album When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note).
8. Eric Harland, Voyager (E. Harland). Eric Harland, drums; Walter Smith III, tenor sasxophone; Julian Lage, guitar; Taylor Eigsti, piano; Harish Raghavan, bass. Recorded Oct. 19-22. 2008. From the album Voyager: Live by Night (Space Time/Sunnyside).
9. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Brooklyn Babylon: The Neighborhood
(D.J. Argue). Erica von Kliest, Rob Wilkerson, Sam Sadigursky, John Ellis (solo), Josh Sinton, reeds; Seneca Black, Tom Goehring, Hirschfield, Jennifer Wharton, trombones; Sebastian Noelle, guitar; Gordon Webster, keyboards; Matt Clohesy, bass, Jon Wikan, drums. Recorded June 19-21, 2012. From the album Brooklyn Babylon (New Amsterdam).
10. Gerald Clayton, Mao Nas Massa
(G. Clayton). Gerald Clayton, piano; Joe Sanders, bass; Justin Brown, drums. Recorded Oct. 1-3, 2012. From the album Life Forum (Concord Jazz).
11. Manuel Valera & New Cuban Express, Descarga Para Frank Emilio
(M. Valera). Manuel Valera, keyboards; Yosvany Terry, saxophones and percussion; Tom Guarna, guitar; John Benitez, bass; Ludwig Afonso, drums; Mauricio Herrera, percussion. Recorded June 1-2, 2013. From the album Expectativas (Mavo).