Mack Avenue

McLorin Salvant Cécile: Dreams and Daggers [3 Vinyl LP]

Produced by McBride, Kind Of Brown is a collection of hard swing-to-bluesy groove tunes that the leader says he put together to give the members of his new ensemble "something to sink their teeth into."

The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons is culminating documentation of a richly inspired piece - lauding four key figures of the Civil Rights Movement: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali. Marshaling his ever-sharpening skills as a composer, arranger, conductor, musician and lyricist, Christian McBride has created a historically and culturally illuminating five-part suite for an 18-piece big band, chorus and narrators that places the motivating forces as well as the goals of the Civil Rights Movement within a powerfully relevant artistic context. It is a one-from-the-heart project McBride was, apparently, destined to undertake. This recording of The Movement Revisited marks the addition of a fifth movement, "Apotheosis," which acknowledges the election of Barack Obama as the first African American President of the United States.

Once in a while, a new jazz artist arrives on the scene who reminds us of the power and glory of this music, and shows how jazz can still stir our emotions and get our pulses racing in the present day. Cécile McLorin Salvant is that sort of artist. WomanChild is the stunning Mack Avenue debut of a once-in-a-generation artist.

McLorin Salvant Cécile: For One to Love [2 Vinyl LP]

2016 Grammy(c) Winner for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on Cherokee. This record is the fruit of McBride's long association with the Vanguard, where his first appearance as a leader for the historic club was in 1995. In 2007, the bassist and charismatic club owner Lorraine Gordon started an annual one-week residency, which featured McBride's quintet, Inside Straight. "Lorraine enjoyed my trio and my quintet, Inside Straight. We had such large crowds, so after a few years with such supportive audiences, we added an extra week. Instead of doing the same band for two weeks, I just started bringing in a different band. This has been an ongoing relationship that I look forward to maintaining as long as I can."

Rising star pianist/composer Connie Han brings the ancient Sumerian culture to the present day by channelling Inanna -- the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, beauty and war - on her third release for Mack Avenue Records. Featuring Katisse Buckingham (alto flute and piccolo), John Patitucci (bass), Rich Perry (tenor saxophonist) and drummer Bill Wysaske, Secrets of Inanna creates a new world open to interpretation, harkening back to the ethereal soundscapes of 1970s spiritual jazz with the modern composition Han has received praise for since her 2018 debut Crime Zone,creating a truly unique soundscape of great depth.