Jim Hynes

Marley’s Ghost is a roots band that has proven capable of moving in several directions over its four decades together. One element of consistency is that they once again enlist Larry Campbell, who produced their last two albums. Campbell, of course, has been a mainstay of Bob Dylan’s band and the late Levon Helm’s band. And those two icons were fixtures in The Band. Yes, it’s almost heretical to compare any band to that unit, but there are some similarities. Marley’s Ghost is a band of six, most of whom play multiple instruments and five of whom are lead vocalists. Besides, both play distinctly American music. And, The Band did a covers album of original rock n’ roll songs, entitled Moondog Matinee, just as Marley’s Ghost pays tribute to the country genre here. Partly through Campbell’s urging as well as the band’s sensibilities, they dig deep here into the classic country sound.

The semi-annual Exit Zero Jazz Festival, its twenty-sixth edition, was held May 15-17, 2026, in the nation’s oldest ocean resort, Cape May, NJ, featuring many of the top performers in jazz, emerging stars and veterans alike, with a sun-splattered, ocean-facing deck that also hosted performances, on a weekend that offered practically summer weather. All performances in Convention Hall were strong and offered something special. There were no club visits for yours truly, but the Festival added a small, intimate performing space, The Clemans Theater for the Arts, which was a handsome addition.

Most of today’s jazz fans recognize pianist Emmet Cohen from his popular livestream series, Live From Emmet’s Place. Though Cohen typically plays in the piano trio format, he has a legacy of inviting prominent guests to his livestream series. Still, other than his Master Legacy Series, Cohen’s albums have mostly featured his trio at the time. So, playing and touring with a quintet is rather new. His Centennial Tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane tour has already concluded as we write this, with his Universal Truth album as the underlying foundation. The album quintet features his current trio of bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Joe Farnsworth alongside trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and tenor saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, both of whom have appeared on Live From Emmet’s Place multiple times.

Typically, we associate the piano trio with jazz, and a power trio in rock is generally led by a guitarist. Drummer Jimmy Lester, bassist/songwriter/ singer/ bandleader Mark W. Winchester, and keyboardist Kevin McKendree, all Nashvillians, flip the script on They Got It All. The trio laid down these tracks in two days live at McKendree’s well-frequented Rock House studio in Franklin, TN. Winchester contributed the original songs, and two instrumentals were collaboratively developed in the studio. McKendree, a member of Delbert McClinton’s band, produced some great records for his bandleader and both produces and engineers here.

What began as a rather bizarre concept has fully blossomed, seven chapters in. Arguably, The Claudettes are the only band to successfully meld soul, rock, punk, and cabaret into an intoxicating stew. The juxtaposition of the two words in the title of Garage Glamour

Since 2023, the Alvaro Torres trio – pianist Torres, bassist Masa Kamaguchi, and drummer Kresten Osgood – has uniquely merged the languages of post-bop, fr

Rodney Crowell ’s string of 2001’s Houston Kid, 2003’s Fate’s Right Hand, and 2005’s The Outsider, a trilogy of sorts, are as strong as any three consecutive albums in Americana. He attempted to continue this momentum in 2005 by going into the studio with the same band, including Steuart Smith on guitar, and co-producing with Crowell, along with Benmont Tench joining on organ. He was attempting to vary the script somewhat, but was uncomfortable with the results, feeling it was too similar to the trilogy aesthetic. Twenty years later, he found the album in his vaults and felt it was the right time to release it.

When we first heard pianist, composer, healer, and bandleader Nduduzo Makhathini’s Blue Note debut, 2020’s Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld, our initial impression was mainly a South African variation on the sound of John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. While those giants remain two of Makhathini’s most important mentors, the pianist’s sound continues to evolve on this, his fourth Blue Note release, the 2-LP

The collective Fathers (Blue Note) have turned the concept of a piano trio on its head. In fact, they may be the first of their kind, a keyboard trio where four key artists equal three. They are a supergroup of sorts, four artists with cred for both jazz musicianship and production skills. The producer is Kenneth Blume, formerly known as Kenny Beats (Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, Rico Nasty, Geese, Weezer, and many more). Keyboardist Keifer Shackelford, simply known as Kiefer, has recently signed to the label. His music is a blend of jazz, electronic, and hip-hop. As a collaborator and producer, he’s worked with Terrace Martin and Anderson.Paak.

It’s hard to believe that In the Hour of Chaos (Fantasy) is only singer-songwriter Allison Russell ’s third solo album, given her extensive list of awards and prominent appearances at major festivals like Newport Folk, AmericanaFest, and Glastonbury. However, this album is far from a solo endeavor; Russell has brought together a remarkable group of 28 contributors, making it feel as much like a Broadway musical as it does an album. This collaboration aligns perfectly with her recent role as Persephone in the Broadway production of Hadestown. From her breakthrough album *The Returner* in 2024, we know that Russell is dedicated to collective healing, and she expands on that theme in this new work.