The recording features pianist John Di Martino, bassist Jay White, drummer Sylvia Cuenca, and violinist Alan Grubner. Their performances support Harris’s interpretations with subtlety and clarity, contributing to the album’s reflective and lyrical character.

Supported by this ensemble, Harris pairs music with verse to create emotionally resonant performances that connect timeless themes—love, identity, resistance, transformation—with the expressive language of jazz. From setting Hughes’s “The Weary Blues” to music to threading Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” through a Nina Simone favorite, Harris reaffirms jazz as a living, evolving medium for cultural and poetic dialogue.

The album has already earned critical acclaim, named one of The Times’ Best Jazz Albums of 2025 for its thoughtful integration of poetry and musical form.

The Poetry of Jazz shows Harris applying a literary lens to his musical craft. Without abandoning tradition, he brings a quieter, more introspective dimension to the standard jazz repertoire.

The post Allan Harris Blends Jazz and Verse in New Live Album appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

It certainly can be challenging. Fatherhood, at its best, is an improvisation. It’s listening, responding, adapting, and showing up — even when the rhythm changes. And that spirit is reflected in two recent jazz recordings that celebrate the bond between parent and child, each in their own way.

Geoff Mann’s Underground: A Tribute to His Father’s Classic Album

Drummer and composer Geoff Mann is working on a full-length tribute to his father Herbie Mann’s 1969 popular fusion album Memphis Underground. The first single, “Memphis Underground,” was released on April 16, 2025 – what would’ve been Herbie Mann’s 95th birthday. The track feels like a conversation between past and present. Geoff preserves the core groove of the original while pushing it forward with modern textures, featuring artists like Latin GRAMMY-winning flautist Domenica Fossati and Marcos Garcia of Antibalas.

“This album is a love letter to my father, to the musicians who created the original, and to the idea that music can evolve across generations,” Geoff says. “The original Memphis Underground was a radical blend of voices and backgrounds. I’ve tried to approach this tribute with that same spirit of creative risk and reverence.”

It’s soulful, gritty, and rooted in deep respect. Geoff even picked up the flute for the first time after completing the project, a testament to how legacy can still inspire new beginnings.

Nathan & Noah East: Father Son as a Musical Dialogue

Meanwhile, bass legend Nathan East has teamed up with his pianist son Noah for Father Son, their first full collaboration album — one that is as heartfelt as it is musically rich. Released in April 2025, the album showcases their intuitive interplay through originals and classic tunes like “My Favorite Things,” “Killer Joe” (with Hubert Laws) wand “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” It’s an intimate and warm recording, with the spotlight clearly on bass and keys.

“As a father, you try to lead by example,” the senior East says. “Noah showed extraordinary talent from an early age and it’s been a joy to watch him grow into a sought-after artist in his own right. I couldn’t be more proud of the musician and person he has become, and this album is truly a dream come true.”

Noah echoed the sentiment, reflecting, “Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness my dad’s career up close. Growing up around so many different amazing musicians has provided me with a rich musical background, which has immensely shaped my playing. Recording this album together is an experience I will cherish forever.”

“This project has been a labor of love, a heartfelt expression of the deep bond between a Father and Son. Music is a powerful, spiritual language that unites us. We have all poured our hearts into every note,” says the the elder East.

The Common Thread

Whether you’re a parent, a child, or just someone who appreciates the power of legacy, these albums offer a reminder: the most meaningful improvisations in life don’t always happen on stage.

The post Fatherhood: Geoff Mann Salutes His Dad, Nathan and Noah East appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

Sample, a founding member of The Crusaders, had already established himself as a composer with a gift for crafting expressive, sophisticated melodies. Hathaway—blessed with a husky, resonant voice and the musical DNA of her father, R&B great Donny Hathaway—brought her own powerful instincts as a vocalist. Their partnership began with a U.S. tour in 1992 and continued with a run through Japan  later.

“Working so closely with Lalah has helped me to better appreciate her ability to convey powerful emotions in subtle ways which is not typical of so many of today’s pop singers,” Sample explained.

“I’ve never been a formulaic Top 40 songwriter, and usually the singers like Crawford or Al Jarreau who have done well with my tunes are great interpreters. Lalah has those same instincts. Aside from being an incredibly positive person, she and I really seem to understand where each of us is coming from musically.”

During their time in Japan, Hathaway and Sample performed timeless standards like “Fever” and “For All We Know,” with Hathaway bringing new depth to each track.

“She took very easily to the songs Randy had sung,” said Sample, “and gave a lift to timeworn favorites like Fever, which we performed in Japan, and For All We Know.”

On The Song Lives On, Hathaway breathes new life into several Sample/Jennings classics familiar to longtime fans, including:

• the brassy energy of “Street Life” (originally a Top 40 hit in 1979),

• the poignant “When Your Life Was Low”,

• the hopeful “One Day I’ll Fly Away”, and

• the bittersweet “When the World Turns Blue.”

The album also features “Come Along With Me,” a new take on Sample’s “All God’s Children” with lyrics added by Norman Gimbel, showcasing Hathaway’s upbeat spirit.

Sample composed four new instrumental pieces for the album:

• the smoky and elegant “The Song Lives On”,

• the softly textured “Living in Blue”,

• the reflective “A Long Way From Home”, and

• the percussion-driven bonus track “Bittersweet.”
  

Reflecting on the album’s deeper meaning, Sample shared:

“I grew up in a time and place where segregation was an acceptable way of life, and for me the piano was the only place I could run for an act of healing. I still feel that expressing myself this way is my great sanctuary.

I would like my legacy to be not only that I reflected the times in which I lived, but also that my music had the power to help heal people’s pain the way it has healed mine.”

With The Song Lives On, Joe Sample didn’t just craft an album—he shared a sanctuary. And with Lalah Hathaway’s voice carrying the message forward, the legacy lives on.

From the liner notes of the album:

THE SONG LIVES ON

“The gift of artistic senses is given by the Almighty to many. Some develop those senses to high levels of professional ability. The professionals take different journeys, whether by choice or instinct. The path they take can lead them to the spirit and soul of classical, opera, latin, jazz, blues, gospel, pop, rock or combinations thereof. The majority of the gifted embrace popular forms of music. Some of those are innovators who utilize the essence of a culture’s musical soul to define their concept of reaching heights of popular taste. Most others choose to imitate the innovators. Consequently, the concept of formula is born, and flourishes in a manner which seems to indicate the natural order of things.

There are those gifted whose artistic senses are the natural order of things. They are carriers and bearers who represent the DNA of a culture’s musical soul and spirit. Through their artistic senses, the spirit of a culture will survive, and the song will live on.”

– Joe Sample

Content adapted from the label press release sent with the CD in 1999! 

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