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Dave Douglas Meaning and Mystery (Greenleaf) Trumpeter Dave Douglas is one of jazz’s most restless spirits, and even when he treads the well-worn path of postbop with this quintet he manages to sound like he’s blazing a trail. The addition of saxophonist Donny McCaslin helps make this the group’s finest release.
Gianluca Petrella Indigo4 (Blue Note) This wonderful Italian trombonist has created the best fusion of postbop and electronica I’ve ever heard. The opener, a take on Monk’s “Trinkle, Tinkle” that uses so many terse, jagged samples of the pianist he’s practically a member of the band, is worth the sticker price all by itself.
Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club A Hundred Years of Taarab in Zanzibar (Buda) This esteemed group from Zanzibar has been playing orchestral taarab music, an Arabic-sounding strain of African music dominated by majestic strings, for a hundred years with an ever-evolving cast. Deeply soulful.
