Of the 8 albums I selected from over 400 new jazz releases so far, I had only heard of six of the artists.

I tabulated a list of new releases....including some that haven't yet been officialloy released. Then used a table of random numbers to select 8 of those albums.

Two of them are archival records. All the others were totally new to me. And there's one I'm definitely going to follow up on. An album clled Vinterstemmer by Danish pianist and interpretor of popular Danish songs, Jacob Anderskov.

If you are into taking risks, this is a great episode to listen to.

The Junos are the Canadian equivalent to the Grammys in the U.S. This is Part 2 of Jazz and the 2026 Junos. I play music by some of the nominees for the three jazz categories, plus a couple from other categories that could have been placed under 'jazz'.

You'll hear Steve Holt talk about his experience as a student of Kenny Barron. Anthony D'Allesandro and his attempt to run a 4 minute mile. And Edmonton bassist Aretha Tillotson tells us musically and verbally about her experience of turning 35.

I also play music by Nancy Walker, Ale Nuñez, The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, Caity Gyorgy, Alexis Baro Y La Big Band, Andy Rubal, and Kazdoura.

There truly is some marvelous music coming out of Canada. Whether or not you are from Canada, you owe it to yourself to give a listen to this episode plus last weeks (Episode 357)

The Juno Awards -the Canadian version of the grammy's---will be awarded March 29th. There have been 15 jazz albums nominated, plus albums in a couple other categories that jazz fans might appreciate.

In this episode I talk to two of the nominees---pianist Steve Holt and vocalist Alex Samaras. And I play tracks off six of the fifteen nominated jazz albums, one from the 'blues' category, plus a couple from one termed "global music". Also a jazz recording originally from 1974 from Joni Mitchell, who will be receiving a "Lifetime Achievement" award.

This is a great opportunity for all of us to acquaint ourselves with some of the best Canadian jazz.

As I go through some of the new jazz releases that I hear about---a few stand out. Of those, I gave a listen to a couple tracks, and if I liked what I heard, I would choose a track or two to play for you. And I play another track from three of the albums I played last week plus five others.

Here's my setlist for this week's episode:

Since I spent so much time on the best of 2025, I thought it would be worthwhile to put some focus on this year. So I've made a list of all the albums I could find that have been released or are about to be released in 2026. And in this episode I'm playing tracks from some of the ones that I am most looking forward to hearing.

What a delightful array of music to celebrate Black History Month.

Here's the song list:

Hymn to Freedom (Oscar Peterson) as performed by Louise Rose from Victoria, B.C.

This episode heralds the resilience of jazz musicians who fought---and continue to fight--for civil rights and social justice. It celebrates great and positive accomplishments. I play music by artists who have contributed to that resilience.

The African-American contribution to popular music and jazz is profound! And we celebrate the influence they've had on worldwifde culture. In terms of music, black musicians have influenced gospel, blues, jazz, rock'nroll, rhythm & blues, soul, funk, disco, hip hop, and house.

I play music by James Brown, Rich Brown, Max Roach with Olatunji and Abbey Lincoln, Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell, Joe Bowden, Louis Armstrong, and Johnathan Blake, You'll also hear two tracks by the amazingly resilient Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Although blind from an early age, he was a 'visionary'. A debilitating stroke didn't stop him! I play something from the album he put together just prior to that stroke, and the one he recorded after that stroke, when only one of his arms was functional.

I had a fun time using a table of random numbers to select 10 albums from those that were on the 'best of 2025' lists of 109 jazz reviewers.

This episode almost feels like 'live radio' because I had no idea what I was going to play. And at this point you probably don't either.

-Larry

So many old recordings came to light over the past year. And many of them were put on the Best of 2025 lists of various reviewers and jazz aficianados. Here I play a track from 10 of those albums.

You'll hear Kenny Dorham, Bill Evans Trio, Ryan Truesdell and Gil Evans arrangements, Cecil Taylor and Tony Oxley, Jelly Roll Morton with clarinetist Omer Simeon, Dave Robbins Big Band, Horace Silver, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sam Rivers, and The Dave Robbins Big Band (with Chris Gage).

From going through (mostly) albums that at least one reviewer has put on their own best of 2025 lists---I select nine that stand out for me. Quite a range of jazz styles here.