I was at the Hill School Auction last weekend, and someone asked me what new music I was listening to, and I said check out In Unison in the Eccentric. Half way through the year, we have a lot of great new music to sit back and enjoy. Some folks still feel that we have passed the great music writing period of the seventies, and I understand those sentiments, but there is some very good music coming out right now, well worth listening to--better to look forward while enjoying the old tunes.

Jazz

Antonio Sanchez, the super human drumming machine best known for his work with Pat Metheny has become a fine bandleader in his own right. He reputation gained considerable credibility when he wrote the soundtrack for the great film The Birdman, and his band Migration has been putting out some powerful post fusion releases. His latest is Lines in the Sand, released at the end of 2018, which takes the fusion foundation, adds a little melody from his work with Metheny and some of his distinctive writing, and he pumps out an enjoyable set that screams 2019 modern.

Gwylym Simcock's new album, Near and Now, is just what I've been waiting for. Simcock is fresh off a year touring with Pat Metheny, it's good to hear some fresh solo material from this great pianist. Too often I focus on the old masters like Corea, Jarrett, Mays, and Hancock when there is so much inspiration on albums like Near and Now.

Joshua Redman's Come What May is a relaxed set that reunites the quartet that has played off and on for almost twenty years. With perhaps less to prove, Redman leads the group with an earthy feel that dances in your head. This is the state of pop-bop jazz today.

While not quite Jazz, Bruce Hornsby's new Album Absolute Zero is his best album in years, with a bunch of friends playing throughout the set, including the great Jazz drummer Jack Dejohnette. It seemed like Bruce may have been coasting for a few years while touring with his band The Noisemakers, but Absolute Zero establishes him once again as a jazzy Pop artist to be reckoned with, and it's just a great album.

Larry Grenadier has played bass with many of the greats in Jazz over the past twenty years, so maybe this year was the time for him to bust out with a new solo bass album on ECM. The Gleaners is sometimes more of a classical release than anything else, but perhaps it's a contemplative jazz release too, where Grenadier pours his soul into his instrument--bowing, plucking, improvising, making the instrument sing, like it has not done before. You need to focus on this one to get it, but it's a good journey to take.

Acoustic and Jamgrass

The Infamous Stringdusters, fresh off last year's Grammy win, have a new Album out, Rise Sun, and you should listen to it. They continue to write fresh material that is joyful in its execution and honest in their messages. I always prefer Travis Book's lead vocals to Jeremy Garrett's, but regardless, you can't beat these lyrical and powerful songs that cross over from bluegrass to a more Country music feel. If a Country-centered Rise Sun allows the 'Dusters to finally pass to superstardom, I'm with them.

The Lil' Smokies won the band contest at Telluride Bluegrass a few years back, and they have been rising in the jamgrass scene ever since. They have released some fine singles so far this year. I really like their extremely fresh take on Led Zeppelin's Going to California. It is the kind of tune you can play over and over, and you should.

Another Telluride Band Contest winner is Greensky Bluegrass, who has now achieved Alpha Band status. Their latest album, All for Money, is a powerhouse that is propelling them into bigger and bigger venues as they crisscross the country. Their musicianship is at their hippie best and Paul Hoffman's vocals haunt you with earthy perfection. The fun title track says it all for these guys, even if they don't mean it--it's really all for the music.

While Anders Osbourne is hardly a jamgrass artist, his new album Buddha, and the Blues is a change for him, moving him more into the hippie troubadour slot that balances well with his Jamgrass cousins. With his lyrics of failure and personal redemption, this album represents another major transition for him; it almost feels like we are back in the early days of Jackson Brown, Joni Mitchell, the Eagles, and Warren Zevon—it's Anders taking it easy, and it suits him just fine. You might just love this one.

My playlist this month includes these albums, check it out at tinyurl.com/y55o7cb9 and give me a follow on Spotify.

Steve Chase is listening to new albums in Unison.