Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Mundoagua
(Zoho)

For nearly a quarter of a century, pianist-arranger-composer Arturo O’Farrill has led the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Mundoagua (available from www.zohomusic.com), which consists of a pair of three-part suites by the leader along with Carla Bley’s four-part “Blue Palestine” (her final compositions), may very well be O’Farrill’s most significant recording so far.

“Mundoagua” is purely instrumental but a very political work. It musically depicts the gradual destruction of the earth by the greedy who are assisted by their followers plus the ignorant and the passive. Its sections deal with the rise of fascism, climate change, corruption, and the loss of clean and accessible water. While it has its hopeful moments since there is still time left to solve these problems, the saving of the earth is far from certain. The dramatic and cinematic work was ironically written in 2019 before the pandemic and the current political situation. “Mundoagua” (which is fully discussed in O’Farrill’s enlightening liner notes) deserves several listens to fully appreciate.

O’Farrill had his first major job playing in Carla Bley’s orchestra and he considers her to be a major influence and inspiration. Bley’s “Blue Palestine” begins as a Mid Eastern-inspired minor blues, its second movement is in 7/4 time, the third section is mysterious and introverted, and its final part is jubilant. Along the way one hears particularly rewarding solos from bass clarinetist Jasper Dutz, Roman Filiu on soprano, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, and O’Farrill.

The CD concludes with “Dia De Los Muertos, a three-part celebration of the Aztec people that has some furious rhythmic playing in its first section, a somewhat playful waltz, and a rambunctious finale.

Even though this year is not yet half over, Arturo O’Farrill’s Mundoagua ranks as one of the top jazz releases of 2025.

Elaine Dame
Reminiscing
(Self-Released)

The Great American Songbook is a term usually used to describe the top songs composed during the 1915-65 period. The Chicago-based jazz singer Elaine Dame feels that many of the songs written during the 1970s belong in that category. On Reminiscing, she reinvents nine pop hits from that era and makes them sound brand new. It seems strange that Reminiscing (available from www.elainedame.com and www.amazon.com) is only Elaine Dame’s third recording in 20 years. A very powerful and excellent singer who could probably hold her own with Aretha Franklin, she has long been a local legend, a jazz vocal instructor, and a fixture at Chicago-area events and clubs.

An album having songs associated with Chaka Khan, Bill Withers, the Little River Band, Pink Floyd, Heart, Donna Summer, and Pablo Cruise among others may not seem to have much potential from the jazz standpoint but each of the numbers are given inventive treatments while retaining their essence. For a few examples, the Stevie Wonder tune “Tell Me Something Good” is turned into a mambo, Withers’ “Use Me” is modernized and made funky, “Reminiscing” is taken as a bossa-nova, and Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” is reborn as a heartbreaking ballad. The arrangements by the singer and Chris Madsen who is featured on tenor and soprano (really wailing on “Sing Child”) are creative and keep one guessing as to what is coming up next.

In addition to Elaine Dame’s versatile and highly expressive singing, there are some fine solos from the top-notch band with one appearance apiece by trumpeters Victor Garcia (outstanding on “Tell Me Something Good”) and Art Davis, two by guitarist Neal Alger, and fine contributions from the rhythm section (keyboardist Tom Vaitsas, bassist Sam Peters, and drummer Jon Deitemyer) in addition to Chris Madsen.

The end result is a set of unlikely 1970s songs performed by a jazz group and an outstanding vocalist who could probably sing anything. Elaine Dame should certainly record much more often.

Shuffle Demons
Are You Really Real
(Alma)

The Shuffle Demons was originally a street band in Toronto and, 40 years later, it still displays the same boisterous spirit. Altoist/baritonist Richard Underhill and drummer Stich Wynston are original members and are joined on Are You Really Real by bassist Mike Downes and both Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan on tenors. The unusual three-sax two-rhythm instrumentation (which has been consistent throughout the group’s existence) gives the band not only its own sound but permits it to play as freely or as tight as the musicians desire.

While technically skilled and able to play quite melodically, the members of the Shuffle Demons enjoy stretching the music into more avant-garde sounds while retaining an exhilarating swing and wit. They allow one to imagine what the music might have sounded like if Charles Mingus had led a street band.

On Are You Really Real, the group performs 13 originals with each musician contributing at least one tune. The ensembles are sometimes riotous, the soloists are free to take their improvisations outside without worrying about the rhythms and groove being lost and, while their extroverted music is often quite sophisticated, the Shuffle Demons always sound as if they are having a great deal of fun.

The Shuffle Demons are an ideal party band for listeners who do not want to continually hear the obvious. Are You Really Real, which is available from www.almarecords.com, is an excellent example of their sometimes crazy but always wise music.

Caity Gyorgy & Mark Limacher
You’re Alike, You Two
(Self-Released)

Caity Gyorgy is a superb young jazz singer from Canada. I reviewed another recent CD of hers, Hello, How Are You, in the March issue of the Los Angeles Jazz Scene but did not want to miss covering the previous You’re Alike, You Two. This is a set of duets with pianist Mark Limacher that is comprised of nine Jerome Kern songs plus a melancholy original (“The Bartender”) by the singer.

Ms. Gyorgy is a versatile vocalist who can belt out lyrics with the best, caresses ballads with warmth, and is a dazzling scat singer. She begins this CD with powerhouse performances of “Nobody Else But Me” and “A Fine Romance,” displaying the ability to slide upward into high notes and to scat without using clichés. Other highlights include her first-class ballad singing on

“Bill” and the obscure Kern song “April Fooled Me” plus her revivals of “I’m Old Fashioned” and “You Couldn’t Be Cuter.”

Mark Limacher is the perfect duo partner for Caity Gyorgy. He has worked in Broadway and opera settings but is a swing pianist at heart. Limacher is masterful at accompanying the singer by leaving her space to improvise while at the same time making it clear where the beat lies. His concise solos would have pleased Teddy Wilson yet he also challenges the singer to stretch herself a bit. You’re Alike, You Two is a delight. It is available from www.amazon.com.

Paul Vornhagen
Live At The Blue Llama
(Golden Pulse Records)

An excellent tenor and soprano saxophonist and flutist from Detroit, Paul Vornhagen performs with his regular quartet on this live session. The music is high-quality straight ahead jazz that features the group performing six standards and five of Vornhagen’s originals.

Vornhagen has opportunities to solo on each of his instruments, take a few personable vocals, and feature his excellent sidemen. Pianist Pat Cronley is a superior soloist, displaying his virtuosity on “Caravan,” sounding quite adventurous on “Elephants,” and making the most of each solo opportunity. Bassist Patrick Prouty, who also gets to make a few statements, and drummer Larry Ochiltree are alert and stimulating accompanists.

Paul Vornhagen has a cool tone on tenor, swinging away on such numbers as “Bernie’s Tune,” “Night and Day,” and “Gravy Waltz.” His soprano playing is full of passion as he shows on the boogaloo “Hey Pops” and the minor-toned swinger “Cozy Does It” and he is also an impressive flute player, being featured on the Latin original “Montuno Salad” and “Manteca.” His singing is a nice touch that adds variety to the set; he does a good job on “Long Ago And Far Away,” “Do Nothin’ Til You Hear From Me,” and “Night And Day.” In addition on “Elephants,” which in its early section borders on the avant-garde, he has an atmospheric spot on ocarina.

Live At The Blue Llama is an excellent introduction to the playing of the Paul Vornhagen Quartet for those who are not able to get to Detroit to see the group. It is available from www.paulvornhagenjazz.com.

Jessica Jones Quartet
Edible Flowers
(Reva)

On March 13, 2020, as the world was shutting down due to COVID, tenor-saxophonists (and husband and wife) Jessica and Tony Jones, who had just begun a West Coast tour, decided that they needed to document their quartet before it became impossible. The group, with bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Deszon Claiborne, gathered together at a studio in Berkeley and recorded 36 minutes of music. The next day the musicians took flights home, beginning their period of isolation.

Before the latter happened, the quartet performed three Jessica Jones originals, two by Tony Jones, and a song apiece by Connie Crothers (with whom Jessica Jones had recorded a duo album years ago) and Jackie McLean (“Little Melonae”).

The music on Edible Flowers (named after a salad that the musicians ate on the day of the recording) is adventurous post-bop with plenty of interplay between the two tenors, consistently inventive accompaniment from Takeishi and Claiborne, and a constant feeling of unpredictability. Jessica Jones has led her quartet for over 20 years and the musicians’ familiarity with each other allows them to take the music a bit outside without ever losing their direction. Edible Flowers makes for a stimulating listen. It is available from www.revainc.org.

Dick Sisto & Andy LaVerne
Two For Bill
(SteepleChase)

There have been many tributes to Bill Evans ever since the influential pianist’s passing in 1980. Evans’ close interplay with his bassists and drummers along with his chord voicings changed the way that most piano trios sound, and his playing (and that of McCoy Tyner) moved the mainstream of jazz piano beyond Bud Powell’s bebop.

Vibraphonist Dick Sisto has long considered the pianist to be one of his main influences while pianist Andy LaVerne was a student and protégé of Evans. Two For Bill features their vibes-piano duo on nine songs from Evans’ repertoire with two (“Gloria’s Step” and “Waltz For Debby”) being played twice. The performances are taken from four concerts recorded during 2018-19.

While the playing is in the Bill Evans tradition and often utilizes Evans’ reharmonizations, Sisto and LaVerne do not attempt to sound like him. They both have their own musical personalities, adding to the legacy of Evans’ music rather than just recreating the past. Among the highlights of this release are “How Deep Is The Ocean,” “Israel,” “Nardis,” and “Funkallero” although all of the selections are well worth hearing.

Two For Bill, which features the two musicians in inspired form, is heartily recommended and available from www.steeplechase.dk and www.amazon.com.

Steve Allee Big Band
Naptown Sound
(Jazzville)

Keyboardist, arranger, composer and bandleader Steve Allee was born and raised in Indianapolis and has long been an important part of that city’s local scene. While he has left town many times including touring early on with the Buddy Rich Orchestra and recording in several other cities such as New York (with bassist Rufus Reid) and Burbank, Allee has mostly stayed in his home town. Naptown Sound is his fifth recording as a leader and his first at the head of his own 19-piece big band.

The nine selections pay tribute to the Indianapolis jazz scene including some of their more significant clubs. While not a city with the rich jazz history of New Orleans, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, or Los Angeles, Indianapolis was at one time the home for Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, and Slide Hampton among others.

Allee’s writing for his orchestra is in the modern mainstream. “Full House” and “Wes At The Turf” pay homage to Wes Montgomery with Dave Stryker guesting on guitar. Some of the other selections include the lightly funky “Twins” which features Frank Glover’s clarinet, the uptempo and explosive “Spang a Lang” which has hot solos from tenor-saxophonist Chip

McNeill, trumpeter John Raymond and the song’s subject drummer Steve Houghton,” the funky soul jazz of “Cookin’ At the Kitchen” (with Michael Stricklin featured on tenor), and the episodic “Naptown Nights” which has some of Allee’s most inventive writing. Other highlights include the colorful arrangement of “Hubbub” along with Jim Pugh’s fluent trombone, the melodic jazz waltz “Friends” (one of several pieces that has some fine keyboard work from the leader), and the moody ballad “Zebra II.” Special mention should be made of the passionate tenor playing of tenor-saxophonist Rob Dixon who adds a lot of passion to four of the songs.

Fans of modern big bands, even those who have never been to Indianapolis, will enjoy Naptown Sound which is available from www.steveallee.net.

Diego Rivera
The Ofrenda Suite
(Posi-Tone)

Tenor-saxophonist Diego Rivera, who is based in Michigan, has worked with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (20 years ago), Kurt Elling, Sophie Millman, Rodney Whitaker, and the Ulysses Owens Big Band in addition to leading his own groups. He has a large sound that sometimes hints briefly at Joe Henderson and is a solid hard bop soloist.

Ofrenda is Spanish for “offering” and the name of Rivera’s ten-part suite that comprises this CD. Unfortunately there are no liner notes so, if there is a plot to the music, it is not revealed. However it does not take analysis to enjoy this music.

Rivera leads an all-star quintet that also includes trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston. The straight ahead music covers a variety of moods and tempos. Among the highpoints are the lively opener “Volver,” a minor-toned blues “Pan De Muerto” which finds Hirahara sounding a bit like early McCoy Tyner with Stafford contributes some blazing trumpet, the uptempo romps “Cosas” and “La Calavera,” the warm ballad “Cruz,” a pretty melody on “Velas,” and the joyful closer “Esqueleto.” Throughout the set, Rivera (switching to soprano on “Papel Picado”), Stafford and Hirahara contribute many inventive and swinging solos while Kozlov and Royston (who also have brief spots) keep the momentum flowing. Diego Rivera’s The Ofrenda Suite (available from www.posi-tone.com) serves as a fine introduction to the saxophonist and is filled with bright moments.

Judy Wexler
No Wonder
(Jewel City Jazz)

Long a part of the jazz scene in Los Angeles, Judy Wexler has recorded a series of albums but No Wonder is her first consisting exclusively of standards. The singer has always had a knack for picking out superior songs to interpret and that is certainly true on this enjoyable set.

Pianist Jeff Colella provided the challenging and inventive arrangements. The idea was for Judy Wexler to be one of the horns in a sextet, often joining the other two horns in the ensembles, acting as the featured soloist while leaving plenty of space for her sidemen to stretch out. Ms. Wexler, who always has a friendly and inviting voice, rises to the occasion throughout and sounds inspired by the other musicians.

Danny Janklow, whether on alto, tenor, flute, or alto flute, is in top form throughout, coming up with many passionate statements. Trumpeter Jay Jennings (a founding member of Snarky Puppy) is also a major asset. Bob Sheppard appears twice and takes a memorable soprano solo on “Slow Hot Wind,” Colella has some worthy spots, guitarist Larry Koonse guests on five of the dozen songs, and bassist Gabe Davis and drummer Steve Hass offer stimulating support. Among the highlights are “You Stepped Out Of A Dream,” “Never Will I Marry,” “I Wish You Love,” “Dance Me To The End Of Love,” and “A Weaver Of Dreams” with Judy Wexler ending the set with a beautiful ballad version of “The Night We Called It A Day.”

No Wonder, which is available from www.judywexler.com, is one of the singer’s strongest albums to date.

Carl Allen
Tippin’
(Cellar Music)

Since 1985, drummer Carl Allen has appeared on around 200 recordings, uplifting the music of such jazz greats as Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Jackie McLean, Donald Harrison, Vincent Herring, Benny Green, Cyrus Chestnut, Art Farmer and scores of others. Surprisingly, Allen had only led four albums of his own: The Pursuer (1993), Testimonial (1994), Get Ready (2007) and Work To Do (2008). The latter two were co-led by bassist Rodney Whitaker.

Tippin’ has Allen at the head of a pianoless trio that features Chris Potter on tenor, soprano, and bass clarinet along with bassist Christian McBride. Allen and McBride have played and recorded together many times since 1990 but Allen had only recorded with Potter on one occasion, a Renee Rosnes album from 2021 that also included McBride.

With this instrumentation, one immediately thinks of Sonny Rollins’ pianoless trios of the 1950s. Listeners can certainly imagine Rollins stretching out on many of these songs, particularly Pat Metheny’s joyful “James,” the uptempo “L’s Bop,” and a relaxed “Put On A Happy Face.” Rollins is one of the influences on Potter’s tenor playing but he also has his own ideas as Potter shows while preaching the blues on “Parker’s Mood,” playing some effective bass clarinet on Carl Allen’s “Hidden Agenda,” coming up with fresh variations on one song from Rollins’ repertoire (“They Say It’s Wonderful”), and digging into James Williams’ “Alter Ego” and “The Inch Worm” on soprano. Christian McBride also gets his share of solo space (really displaying his virtuosity on “L’s Bop”) and bows beautifully on “Song For Abdullah”; the latter adds John Lee on piano. Particularly impressive is that the trio did not rehearse before the session and recorded the full album in just five hours.

As for Carl Allen, other than a few short tradeoffs, he is content to be a subtle accompanist. It is easy to envision him enjoying the playing of Chris Potter and Christian McBride on this melodic yet explorative outing. Tippin’ is recommended and available from www.cellarlive.com.

Jim Doherty
Spondance
(Livia)

Jim Doherty is a veteran arranger-composer and pianist from Ireland who has been active since 1960. Louis Stewart (1944-2016) was a major guitarist also from Ireland and the two were

good friends and regular associates since near the beginning of their musical careers. In 1986 Doherty composed the jazz ballet Spondance which was performed several times in Europe. He and Stewart visited Los Angeles that year and, with the assistance of trumpeter Bobby Shew who gathered together five other top-notch local musicians, they recorded the six-part suite. Spondance was originally released on cassette (!) in 1986, came out on CD ten years later, and now has been reissued and given extensive liner notes,

Doherty, Stewart and Shew are joined by Bob Sheppard on alto, tenor-saxophonist Gordon Brisker, trombonist Randy Aldcroft, bassist Tom Warrington, and drummer Billy Mintz. The six-part suite is straight ahead jazz with no real classical references. It starts with a jazz waltz (“Nordic Maiden”) that showcases Stewart, has a ballad feature for Shew (“When Two People Meet”), and an uptempo jam on rhythm changes that includes hot solos from Sheppard and Brisker. The two saxophonists are also featured on the Latinish “El Sponzo” The medium-tempo blues “Sergeant Bones” puts the spotlight on trombonist Aldccroft while the closer, the rapid “Maybe It’s You,” is a romp over the chord changes of “There Is No Greater Love” with swinging trumpet, guitar and trombone solos. One cannot imagine ballet dancers performing at that tempo!

The Livia label, which is most notable for its Louis Stewart recordings, was the first Irish jazz record company. Founded and run by Gerald Davis during 1977-2005, it has happily been reactivated by Dermot Rogers in 2022 and Spondance is just one in a series of rewarding reissues that have come out during the past three years. More information about Spondance and the label can be found at www.liviarecords.com.

David Caffey Jazz Orchestra
At The Edge Of Spring
(HDC Music)

David Caffey is an arranger-composer who has taught at colleges for over 44 years. At The Edge Of Spring is the third recording by the David Caffey Jazz Orchestra following Enter Autumn (2015) and All In One (2018).

Most of the members of the 18-piece band (which has 13 horns and a five-piece rhythm section including a vibraphonist) are not that well known other than trumpeter Brad Goode (who unfortunately only gets two solos) and altoist Wil Swindler but they are all excellent ensemble players and (when called upon) top-notch soloists. The music on At The Edge Of Spring consists of six Caffey originals and two Wayne Shorter pieces. The CD as a whole gives a solid sampling of the band including the swinging “Starlight” (based on “Stella By Starlight”), a jazz waltz, a slightly disguised blues (“Old Hat”), a samba, and a blues waltz. Among the solo stars are Swindler, tenor-saxophonist Peter Sommer, guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, altoist Drew Zaremba, and trombonist Jonathan Bumpus. The set’s highpoint is a spirited version of Wayne Shorter’s “One By One” that has strong statements from tenor-saxophonist Andrew Janak, Bumpus, and particularly Goode.

Most big bands around today are part-time ensembles led by an arranger-composer whose music determines the group’s personality. The David Caffey Jazz Orchestra fulfills its leader’s hopes by exploring the swinging modern mainstream with excellent musicianship and plenty of spirit. At The Edge Of Spring is available from www.davidcaffeymusic.com