James Brandon Lewis is a New York-based jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His instrumental voice marries the emotional power of gospel and the grit and groove of blues and R&B to the modal and vanguard influences of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins’ expressive melodic and tonal discipline. Moments, his 2010 debut, was followed by two outings for Sony Masterworks’ revived OKeh imprint: Divine Travels in 2014 and the widely celebrated Days of Freeman the following year. After working American stages and clubs, he toured European and Asian festivals. Radiant Imprints, a duo outing with drummer Chad Taylor, appeared in 2018 and was followed by the quintet offering An UnRuly Manifesto a year later. In 2021, after he was selected as the “Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist” in the Downbeat International Critics Poll, Lewis issued The Jesup Wagon, his debut for Tao Forms.

Along the way, Lewis drew the attention of many improvising artists, most notably the saxophonist and jazz deity Sonny Rollins, who doesn’t offer effusive praise very often. Moved by Lewis’ deep, spirit-seeking sound, Rollins said “When I listen to you, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius ... I listen to the deeper meaning of life. You are keeping the world in balance.”

Eye of I opens with 44 seconds of gritty, high-throttling low-down groove, an ear pulverizing opening designed to cleanse all traces of ordinary from the palette. From there, Lewis offers a prayerful cover of Donnie Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free” and then the first of his disarmingly addictive originals, “The Blues Still Blossoms” in addition to many others.

2023 release. Syml's music has a sacred quality. The solo venture of Seattle artist Brian Fennell, it's themes tap into the instincts that drive us to places of sanctuary, whether that be a place or person. "It comes back to your identity of being human; throughout time we've shared the same drive," he explains. His own upbringing - interwoven with experiences of abandonment, adoption, loss, grief and love - is what drives him to question how connections between people shape us as individuals. The Day My Father Died is an exceptional record. Over 15 songs, Syml offers a profound exploration of the ways in which our lives intertwine. Throughout the album, Syml weaves in familiar iconography as a means of examining his feelings towards others, and about himself.

“I feel like there are two sides of me,” says the Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso known as Sunny War. “One of them is very self-destructive, and the other is trying to work with that other half to keep things balanced.” That’s the central conflict on her fourth album, the eclectic and innovative Anarchist Gospel, which documents a time when it looked like the self-destructive side might win out.

Extreme emotions can make that battle all the more perilous, yet from such trials Sunny has crafted a set of songs that draw on a range of ideas and styles, as though she’s marshaling all her forces to get her ideas across: ecstatic gospel, dusty country blues, thoughtful folk, rip-roaring rock and roll, even avant garde studio experiments. She melds them together into a powerful statement of survival, revealing a probing songwriter who indulges no comforting platitudes and a highly innovative guitarist who deploys spidery riffs throughout every song.

Because it promises not healing but resilience and perseverance, because it doesn’t take shit for granted, Anarchist Gospel holds up under such intense emotional pressure, acknowledging the pain of living while searching for something that lies just beyond ourselves, some sense of balance between the bad and the good.

Featuring: David Rawlings, Allison Russell, Jim James, Micah Nelson

Brit Taylor’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Kentucky Blue, is a drive down the famed Country Music Highway – Route 23 -- back to her Appalachian roots.  Grammy-winner Sturgill Simpson and renowned engineer and producer David Ferguson caught wind of the Kentucky gem after her self-reflective debut album, Real Me, garnered praise from Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and NPR’s World Café.  The two legends didn’t hesitate to jump in and get their hands dirty, producing the next musical chapter of Brit’s life story. The album is to be released on Brit’s own Cut A Shine Records in collaboration with Thirty Tigers.

Having the courage to find her “real me” set Brit free.  Kentucky Blue is a musical celebration of her healing and rebirth.  It exudes confidence with a touch of attitude that replaces the melancholy, contemplative sound of Real Me.  It is a progression of her life and her music and an introduction to the stand-your-ground and know-your-worth Brit of today.  It is a shift back to her East Kentucky influences where the cry of the fiddle, the moan of the steel guitar, the twangy banjo and the atmospheric string section are like a journey floating through space and time.

Brit continues to unabashedly write and sing about what she lives and what she knows and sees. It’s genuine. It’s who she is.

Kentucky Blue is Brit’s personal invitation to you to join her at her cabin in the woods for a bourbon, a swing on the porch and a story-telling song.

Joe Chambers, Andres Vial and the Montreal-based musicians on the Dance Kobina have a shared interest in exploring the deep musical connection between jazz, Latin and African music. Vial's original composition Dance Kobina, draws specific inspiration from African-American, Brazilian, Argentinian and Central African music. Originally lacking a title, Chambers suggested Dance Kobina as the name for the piece because of its uplifting, dancing quality.

Digitally remastered reissue of the iconic American rock band's 1980 album.

Ella Fitzgerald's Live At Montreux 1969 features the First Lady of Song backed by the Tommy Flanagan Trio performing a set combining contemporary tracks, such as "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "Hey Jude" alongside classics like "I Won't Dance," "That Old Black Magic," and a host of others. Available on CD for the first time.

2023 release, the first album in 10 years from the country music singer/songwriter.

2023 release. Overall, it's yet another mostly remarkable album from Walker but there are admittedly a couple of weaker tracks here - specifically the duet "Stateline Fireworks," which seems a little out of place here and the plodding "Slow Leak," which kills a little of the momentum here. The set, complete with a "tip your waitstaff" intro is meant to sound like the live soundtrack to a piano player club act, includes a 45 second bar fight to split up the album (aptly titled "Bar Fight"). All momentum is quickly brough back up to speed on the rambunctious "Tell Me I'm Pretty (Bethamphetamine Pt. 2)" one of the few guitar-heavy tracks here. And as fun as raucous moments like that are, it's a song like "Holy Water Hangover," the first single and easily one of the most addictively catchy songs Walker has ever written, that makes this album a need to own.

The long awaited new album from the Nu- Roots Reggae sensation Alborosie. For The Culture was written and produced by Alborosie during the darkest months of the Covid 19 pandemic and gives voice to many thoughts and emotions felt around the world during the period.

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early 90s with her GRAMMY-award winning albums, Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw, which featured hits, “Something to Talk About” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me” among others. Raitt’s widely acclaimed 2012 independent release Slipstream sold over a quarter-million copies, making it one of the top selling independent albums, and earned Raitt her 10th Grammy Award (Best Americana Album). In February 2016, Raitt released her highly anticipated 20th album, Dig In Deep (Redwing Records). On tour for much of 2017-2019, Raitt and her band performed in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada before touring as support for James Taylor in stadiums and arenas across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe. As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement and continues to work on safe energy issues, environmental protection, social justice, human rights, and blues/music education.

IDLES return with their new album "CRAWLER" ' an album of reflection and healing amid a worldwide pandemic that stretched the planet's collective mental and physical health to the breaking point. Frontman Joe Talbot says, "We want people who've gone through trauma, heartbreak, and loss to feel like they're not alone, and also how it is possible to reclaim joy from those experiences." IDLES albums have always been anchored by these overarching themes, but the ability of the band to juxtapose beauty and rage with humor and drama has never felt more satisfying than on "CRAWLER." These stories are vividly brought to life through IDLES' most soul-stirring music to date, recorded with co-producer Kenny Beats (Vince Staples, Freddie Gibbs). There are, of course, numerous moments that will inspire absolute mayhem in a packed concert venue, but there are also fresh textures and experiments that push IDLES into thrilling new territory. "I don't really see us as a 'rock band' and working with Kenny [Beats] freed us of the idea of genre," Talbot enthuses. "On this album, our dissolution of ego was helped by Kenny's humble nature and willingness to learn. He has boundless passion for making the best song possible. Not the best 'rock' song ' the best song possible." He continues, "It was writing selfishly that helped make it possible. Reflecting. Telling my own story. Not trying to tell everyone else's story. Not trying to fix the world ' just talking about how I am fixing mine."

Robert Glasper’s highly anticipated third installment to the Black Radio album series. Black Radio III, much like both of its predecessors, is a cultural moment that celebrates black love and resilience, features an eclectic group of talented collaborators, and is composed by Glasper who the New York Times proclaims is “probably the most prominent jazz musician of his generation”. An innovative and essential addition to Glasper’s seminal Black Radio series.