AARON PARKS TRIO

“An expressive and insightful pianist, [Aaron Parks] has spent more than half his life in one or another sort of spotlight, and while he favors a spirit of expedition, he isn’t an obscurantist. His music seeks communion, often delving deep into familiar song form.

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The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began its life as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966.The world-famous Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City booked the newly formed band for three Monday nights that February. Those performances were wildly successful and the engagement was extended indefinitely. The Village Vanguard’s owner, Max Gordon, told Mel Lewis, “We’ll keep it going until it tapers off.” Over half a century and more than 2700 Monday nights later, it still hasn’t. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra stands apart from all other modern ensembles of its kind and is still as strong and vital as ever.

“Blake's versatile recording background with jazz greats trumpeter Tom Harrell and pianist Kenny Barron, to name just two, has made an exciting drummer out of him always surprising and somewhat unconventional.

“For more than two decades, protean saxist and composer Donny McCaslin has relentlessly expanded his musical purview in a variety of ensemble settings: as a sideman, as the pilot of his own diverse groups and, more recently, as a collaborator on the late Bowie's final album, Blackstar. That investment in genres outside of jazz is visible on the tenorist’s recent work.

“Among his generation of jazz musicians, Kurt Rosenwinkel has to be the most beloved guitarist. Chalk it up to his originality: He's set trends among his peers with ideas about harmony and form, and he's created an easily recognizable playing style on an instrument where individuality is rare in mainstream jazz.

“Though less conspicuous than he was a few decades ago—is there anyone who’s actually made their way through the relentless tsunami of recordings that Murray appeared on in the eighties and nineties?—the fire-breathing saxophonist and bass-clarinet player remains a force to be reckoned with.

“Mr. Mehldau — tracing connections, making digressions, but never quite forsaking the original framework — sounds both grounded and almost boundless

“Changes come and go in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, but the basement club occupying 178 Seventh Avenue South since 1935 remains a stable and revered New York City landmark.