Building on a long track record of scholarship and interpretive artistry focused on the great Mary Lou Williams, vibraphonist and composer Cecilia Smith is proud to announce the release of Volume 1: Small Ensemble Repertoire, the new album from her NEA American Masterpiece Award-winning Mary Lou Williams Resurgence Project.

ODESZA have just announced the much-anticipated follow-up to 2022’s The Last Goodbye Tour. The second leg, produced by Live Nation, will follow headlining performances at Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and Electric Forest, taking the GRAMMY-nominated duo to stops in San Diego, Columbus, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and more, featuring support from Bob Moses, Bonobo (DJ set), Big Boi, TOKiMONSTA, Drama, Neil Frances, and QRTR & Olan on select dates (outlined below).

Genre-smashing southern troubadour Afton Wolfe has announced a 16-city East coast trek in support of his recently released EP, ‘Twenty-Three,’ the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut LP, Kings for Sale, (Grandiflora Records) which The Rocking Magpie declared “The real deal in a very shallow world.”

Cloudchord (Derek VanScoten), the producer, guitarist, and genre bender specialist that is augmenting musical possibility into reality shares his new full-length LP Bloom Bap via Nettwerk. With Bloom Bap, Derek VanScoten’s Cloudchord project has put forth its greatest and most impossibly lush collection of tunes to date.

With one foot in the real world and the other in a charmed dimension of his own making, Amos Lee creates the rare kind of music that’s emotionally raw yet touched with a certain magical quality. On his eighth album Dreamland, the Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter intimately documents his real-world struggles (alienation, anxiety, loneliness, despair), an outpouring born from deliberate and often painful self-examination. “For most of my life I’ve walked into rooms thinking, ‘I don’t belong here,’” says Lee.

A family legacy of music can be a precious thing for a musician, and when a duo brings two of them together, the results can be even more special.

On Record Store Day (Saturday, April 22), the long-running Silver Spring, MD record store Joe’s Record Paradise invites music fans to join them for a special celebration of Baltimore’s Left Bank Jazz Society. Joe’s Record Paradise will host a panel discussion featuring Left Bank’s own John Fowler, who will share anecdotes from Left Bank Shows starring Lee Morgan, Sonny Stitt, and the great Duke Ellington.

The Naya Rockers are excited to announce their new single Reggae Train Dub ft. Johnny Clark, a Mad Professor Remix. The legendary producer gives the dub treatment to “Reggae Train,” a highlight from the band’s album Naya Sound System. Last year, the Naya Rockers released the remastered edition of the much-loved 2014 studio album. Reggae Train Dub ft. Johnny Clark a Mad Professor Remix is due out April 7th! Pre-save and order here: https://ffm.to/reggaetrainmadprofdub.OPR

For 130 years, Gibson has shaped sound across generations and genres of music, becoming one of the most relevant, played, and loved guitar brands around the world. Gibson is proud to unveil its first official global release and partnership with Kirk Hammett, legendary guitarist of the multi-platinum selling and GRAMMY® Award-winning band, Metallica. No other guitar has earned legendary status like “Greeny,” the magical 1959 Les Paul Standard, now owned by Kirk Hammett.

The evening overview including musicians, presenters and performers: The night’s honorees will be Benny Golson (composer and saxophonist), Wendy Oxenhorn (founding director and vice chairman of the JFA), legendary songwriter Mike Stoller, Titans of Jazz Bass (Cecil McBee, Rufus Reid, Larry Ridley, Paul West, Buster Williams and Reggie Workman) and a special tribute to the late Ramsey Lewis (composer and pianist). In addition to an evening of honors, the night will feature a gala concert headed by Musical Director Steve Jordan. Performers include Jon Batiste, Taj Mahal, Robert Cray, Bettye LaVette, Monty Alexander, Ray Parker Jr., Kenny Barron, and more.