Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy: Spirit Moves (Greenleaf)
Having come to prominence while playing with John Zorn in the 1990s, trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas has since established a respected oeuvre of his own as a bandleader. His work spans swaths of the jazz spectrum and often falls outside of it, and he partakes in handfuls of projects at any given time.
Brass Ecstasy, one of Douglas' newer groups, now makes its debut with Spirit Moves, a fun, horn-filled homage to New Orleans as well as other inspirations, including Art Ensemble of Chicago cofounder Lester Bowie, who passed away in 1999.
Rock Plaza Central: …at the Moment of our Most Needing or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren't Alone (Paper Bag)
Following a critically acclaimed album with a theme about robot horses that believe they're the real deal, Rock Plaza Central returns with a debut for Paper Bag Records.
A near-death accident has made this doubly named album extra special to the group, which again employs a semi-orchestral neofolk mixture with melodious acoustic guitars and Southwestern horns.
Masada Quintet (featuring Joe Lovano): Stolas, The Book of Angels Vol. 12 (Tzadik)
Comprised of 300 tunes — written in just three months — John Zorn's second Masada book, The Book of Angels, is a sprawling collection of musical diversity. Each installment of the series, which began in 2005, has been performed by a different group of collaborators, and this one features Zorn's new Masada Quintet plus saxophonist Joe Lovano.
Stolas is decidedly jazzy, reuniting a number of classic Zorn contributors, including the aforementioned Dave Douglas, bassist Greg Cohen, pianist Uri Caine, and drummer Joey Baron. The result is an accessible jazz disc that varies in theme and briefly touches upon Zorn's Jewish melodies.
