The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner is Conrad Herwig’s latest reimagination of music from his musical heroes, and in this case, former boss on the bandstand. Backed by a band that includes his closest friends and long-time collaborators, including Craig Handy (tenor & baritone saxophone), Alex Norris (trumpet & flugelhorn), Bill O'Connell (piano), Ruben Rodriguez (bass), Robby Ameen (drums), and Camilo Molina congas & bata), the new album is a worthy companion to previous entries in the “Latin Side” series, Luques Curtis and Eddie Palmieri sit in on a track each.

Well-known as an anchor of the Mingus Big Band and a first-call session musician, Conrad has released more than twenty-five albums as a leader..Among his more notable credits include Joe Lovano’s 52nd Street Themes, Al Di Meola’s Orange and Blue, and Miles Davis’s final large-scale performance released as Live at Montreux.

Podcast 981 completes our two part conversation with Herwig, who spoke to me by telephone while sitting a in a park near his home. The bird calls you hear in the background add a wonderful ambience to our talk. In this second part, we discuss his musical history and future projects, and talk about some of my favorite Herwig sessions, including The Tip of the Sword with Richie Beirach and Jack DeJohnette, and New York Breed, with Beirach, Adam Nussbaum, Dave Liebman, and Rufus Reid. Musical selections from those albums include “Thought Precede Action” and McCoy Tyner’s “Search for Peace.”

The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner is the latest installment in a critically-acclaimed series that started in 1996 with The Latin Side of John Coltrane. It's the work of Conrad Herwig, a musically gifted, bilingual artist, a master trombonist who grew up admiring jazz's greatest practitioners but, at the same time, cutting his Latin Jazz teeth with legends such as Mario Bauza, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera and the great pianist and composer, Eddie Palmieri.

Herwig called McCoy Tyner his boss for a number of years, so bringing his reimagination skills to the legendary pianist’s music is a natural step for the trombonist. He has assembled a group of musicians he calls his closest friends and long-time collaborators for the album, including Craig Handy (tenor & baritone saxophone), Alex Norris (trumpet & flugelhorn), Bill O'Connell (piano), Ruben Rodriguez (bass), Robby Ameen (drums), and Camilo Molina congas & bata), Luques Curtis and Eddie Palmieri sit in on a track each.

Beyond his “Latin Side” series (including the music of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hanock, and Wayne Shorter), Herwig is well-known as an anchor of the Mingus Big Band and a first-call session musician. Among his more notable credits include Joe Lovano’s 52nd Street Themes, Al Di Meola’s Orange and Blue, and Miles Davis’s final large-scale performance released as Live at Montreux. He’s released more than twenty-five albums as a leader.

Podcast 980 is the first of my two part conversation with Conrad, who spoke to me by telephone while sitting a in a park near his home. The bird calls you hear in the background add a wonderful ambience to our talk. In this first part, we discuss jhow the Latin Side series began, and how he chooses his material, He discusses the contribution of his fellow musicians to the recordings, and you’ll hear the The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner’s take on “Seach for Peace.” Part Two of our conversation appears later this week.

An early highlight of the summer for jazz fans in the US Northeast is always the Freihoer's Saratoga Jazz Festival, held on the grounds of the lovely Saratoga Performing Arts Center ("SPAC"). This year's lineup should please almost any jazz fan, bringing ta wide ranging lineup to two stages on June 29 and 30. Want the inside scoop on the festival? listen to Podcast 979 as festival organizer Danny Melnick talks about the acts, the scene and the background on a great weekend of music.

The Festival scehdule (subject to change) is:

Saturday, June 29th

Amphitheater Stage

· 12:00PM – The New Orleans Groove Masters featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis & Shannon Powell

· 1:45PM – Joey Alexander Trio with special guest Theo Croker ​

· 3:30PM – The Yussef Dayes Experience

· 5:15PM – Samara Joy​

· 7:00PM – Cimafunk with special guest Pedrito Martinez​

· 8:55PM – Lake Street Dive​

Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage

· 11:00AM – Sara Caswell Quartet

· 12:20PM – Harold López-Nussa: Timba a la Americana​

· 1:40PM – Tia Fuller​

· 3:00PM – Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra​

· 4:20PM – Theo Croker​

· 5:40PM – Coco Montoya​

Sunday June 30th

Amphitheater Stage

· 12:30PM – Terence Blanchard Sextet

· 2:00PM – Cory Henry

· 3:30PM – Laufey​

· 5:15PM – Stanley Clarke N*4Ever​

· 7:00PM – Norah Jones​

Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage

· 11:30AM – Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Centennial Celebration of Max Roach, Bud Powell & J.J. Johnson featuring Clay Jenkins, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Mike Moreno, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel ​

· 12:55PM – Helen Sung: JazzPlasticity

· 2:20PM – Miguel Zenon Quartet​

· 4:00PM – Olatuja

· 5:35PM – Pedrito Martinez Group

Those who cover music love to categorize the music and musicians we focus on. I put myself all too often into this group. What should I call it? Is it Acid Jazz? Post Bop? Downtown Loft? But far too often muscians fall in between the cracks of these often arbitrary categories, and we are left looking for new descriptive words. Often the words fail us.

The UK-based duo Edy Forey are definitely in those cracks, even if they call their music “Urban Jazz.” What does that sound like, and where does it come from? Listen to Podcast 978, my conversation with Edy Forey and find out,

Vocalist Edy Szewy and keyboardist Guilhem Forey believe music is sacred and musicians matter greatly. Szewy was born in Poland to an American father and a Polish mother. Her parents separated early, but her dad would send her CDs from America that you couldn’t find locally. By the time she moved to one of the cultural centers of Europe, Edinburgh Scotland, she had absorbed the very American grooves of TLC and En Vogue, enthralled with the songwriting and production skills of the likes of D’Angelo and Lauryn Hill, imagining that one day she could do it too.

Conversely, Forey, born in Paris and raised in Nantes, France was a child musical prodigy. Bach spiritually and emotionally pulled him in at the age of three—so much so that this classical music was almost scary to his immature mind. But by the time his grandfather introduced him to American icon Ray Charles and British guitarist Eric Clapton, everyone who heard him play realized he was a gifted pianist. At age 11, his mom walked him into a rehearsal hall for his first jazz piano lessons. So taken was the teacher on this introductory audition, he flung his door open and quickly recruited a bassist and drummer to join in. It was the talented adolescent’s first jam session. By 16, Forey was leading a jazz trio.

Culture Today, their debut album, sounds more like a project that has been germinating for years, rather than a coming-out party. Part of the reason is the presence of Bob Power behind the board, a man whose distinguished resume includes work by Me’Shell N’degéocello, The Roots, D’Angelo, and Erykah Badu mixing and mastering the duo’s entire album. Then there is the sound of several guest artists who joined them on this record, including founding members of Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League and saxophonist Bob Reynolds. Also, Sharay Reed, of the Funk Apostles, Femi Koleoso of the Ezra Collective and reed player Alex Hahn provided significant contributions.

Both Edy and Foret=y joined me for our conversation as we dug into the roots of their sound, how they go about collaborating on material, and where they want to go with their music now that they have made that all-important first album. Musical selections include “Better Way,” with the two bassist sound of Luca Alemanno (double bass) and Dean Mark (electric bass) and their cover of the standard “Nature Boy,” with some revised harmony and additional lyrics by Edy.

""In a world where it's easy to be cynical and bitter, what strikes me most about Nicola and his music is the pure joy and excitement that he brings and carries with him at all times. To be present in the euphoria of this art form is the most difficult skill the way I see it and many young artists seem to ignore that simple and powerful fact. Nicola, in addition to being an accomplished instrumentalist and composer, possesses that ineffable quality that draws us to his music." - Rio Sakairi, the artistic director of The Jazz Gallery, NYC,

In one of the best debut recordings of the year so far, Italian-born, NYC-based saxophonist Nicola Caminiti has released Vivid Tales of a Blurry Self-Portrait on his own label. Leading a quartet that includes pianist Lex Korten, bassist Ben Tiberio and drummer Miguel Russell, Nicola shows strong writing skills and plenty of chops to go with them. The band’s interplay shows that they’ve been honing this material for some time now, and the result is a terrific listen.

Caminiti has racked up impressive accolades over the recent past, including being named a 2023 Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer, winning the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Competition, and a Jazz Gallery Artist Commission for 2023-2024. He's performed with Pedrito Martinez, Arturo O’Farrill & Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and his friend and mentor Dayna Stephens, among many others.

Podcast 977 is my conversation with Nicola, as we discuss the band, how he goes about writing his tunes, and what musicians have inspired and driven him to be a jazz musician. Musical selections from Vivid Tales of a Blurry Self-Portrait include “Elliptical Biking,” written during the pandemic, and “Adam Arturo,” a tribute of sorts to jazz musician Adam O’Farrill.

Zaccai Curtis continues to be one of the most engaging piano players of the past decade. Whether as a band leader (alone or with his brother Luques) or backing the likes of the late Ralph Peterson, Lakecia Benjamin and Cindy Blackman Santana, his strong sense of rhythm and deep knowledge of Latin and Afro-Cuban sounds and Bebop chords make him a cornerstone of those artist’s sounds.

Cubop Lives! is an album that stands as the culmination of his work as a composer/arranger, performer, and educator steeped in the Afro-Cuban Jazz tradition. Backed by Willie Martinez (drums, voice, timbales), Camilo Molina (percussion), Reinaldo De Jesus (percussion, drums), and brother Luques Curtis (bass), he has delivered an album that creates a fusion of the Bebop and Latin jazz traditions. For example, one of the most notable ways he does this is through the “Noro Morales Suite,” a collection of four pieces by the great Puerto Rican pianist, Noro Morales, one of Zaccai’s musical heroes. And then with his take on Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” he reinterprets a piano staple and turns it into something fresh and new.

Since his days learning at the feet of masters like Jackie McLean in Hartford, Connecticut, Zaccai has absorbed innumerous influences. With the new album, he gets to turn that sound loose, on his original tunes and tasty covers. There is nary a week moment on the album, and I suspect it will find its way to many year-end “Best of” lists.

Zaccai records on the Truth Revolution Recording Collective, a group he, Luques and likeminded musicians run to release and distribute their work. We discuss his label, and how he came to be so versed in Latin Jazz in Podcast 976. Musical selections include “Maple Leaf Rag” and the Curits-penned blues “Black Rice.”

Podcast 975 continues my conversation with the great Charles McPherson. A giant of the saxophone, Charles is a product of the rich jazz city of Detroit, where he was mentored by the late Barry Harris. His closest childhood friend was the future trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer; the two later played together with the iconic Charles Mingus, with whom McPherson would tour and record for more than a decade. McPherson and Hillyer lived just blocks from the famed Blue Bird Inn, a renowned jazz club where the house band included Harris, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, and Elvin Jones.

His new album Reverence pays a tribute to the late Barry Harris, as well as showcasing his top notch band featuring Terell Stafford on trumpet. We discuss the band and the tunes that make up Reverence, as well as The Lost Album at Ronnie Scott's, a previously unreleased album showcasing McPherson, Charles Mingus, a very young Jon Faddis, Bobby Jones, John Foster and Roy Brooks. That recording form shows in August 1972 at the famed London jazz club, illustrates McPherson's approach to playing his saxophone.

Reverence is Charles McPherson’s first release for Smoke Sessions Records, and a few listens reveal why he’s been held in such reverence for the last 64 years. The album captures a scintillating live performance from Smoke Jazz Club, where McPherson is joined by his remarkable current group featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Jeb Patton, bassist David Wong, and drummer Billy Drummond. The set is a showcase for McPherson’s gifts as both composer and soloist and bridges his deep and far-reaching exploration of the full jazz spectrum.

Reverence kicks off a yearlong series of live recordings celebrating the 25th anniversary of Smoke Jazz Club and the tenth anniversary of its record label, Smoke Sessions. McPherson’s preference for recording live was a major factor in launching this series. After an inspiring, post-pandemic week performing at the recently renovated and reopened Smoke back in November 2022, McPherson knew he wanted to capture that same atmosphere and energy on his next recording, so the decision to skip the studio and record live was a relatively easy one.

Born in Joplin, Missouri, McPherson spent his formative years in the rich jazz city of Detroit, where he was mentored by the late Barry Harris. His closest childhood friend was the future trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer; the two later played together with the iconic Charles Mingus, with whom McPherson would tour and record for more than a decade. McPherson and Hillyer lived just blocks from the famed Blue Bird Inn, a renowned jazz club where the house band included Harris, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, and Elvin Jones.

Reverence was born shortly after Barry Harris passed away in late 2021. Harris was a pivotal figure for McPherson, not just as a musician but as a person. In light of his recent passing, the album is particularly dedicated to his memory. The final track on Reverence, “Ode to Barry,” was penned in homage to the great pianist and educator. Beyond topnotch McPherson originals, the set is rounded out by a pair of familiar standards: “Come Rain or Come Shine,” the Harold Arlen classic, showcasing the warm tenderness of McPherson’s ballad playing in a quartet setting; and the yearning, nostalgic “Old Folks,” led by a wistful Stafford outing.

Podcast 974 is the first of a two part conversation with Charles McPherson, as he talks about his love of live performances and of bebop vocabulary, and tells the story of his time with Barry Harris. Podcast 975 will pick up the conversation with talk of his time with Charles Mingus and Art Farmer, and how he keeps busy in his home near San Diego, California.