Thomas Conrad, Tom Fine

Johnathan Blake: Homeward Bound, Bill Charlap Trio: Street of Dreams, Renee Rosnes: Kinds of Love and Oliver Nelson: The Blues and the Abstract Truth.

Nina Simone: The Montreux Years, Dmitry Baevsky: Soundtrack, David Helbock: The New Cool and Roy Hargrove/Mulgrew Miller: In Harmony.

Alice Coltrane: Kirtan: Turiya Sings, James Brandon Lewis/Red Lily Quintet: Jesup Wagon, William Parker: Painters Winter and Todd Cochran TC3: Then and Again, Here and Now.

Francesco Cafiso: Irene of Boston
Cafiso, alto saxophone; London Symphony Orchestra; four others
EFLAT EF0003 (CD, available as download, LP). 2020. EFLAT, prod.; Riccardo Piparo, Mat Bartram, Francesco Lupi, Roberto Romano, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****

The first time I heard Francesco Cafiso, I thought I was hallucinating. It was 2005. I had flown to Australia from Seattle to cover the Melbourne Jazz Festival. Cafiso appeared the first night. He was 15. He played the most outrageous bebop I had ever heard outside of Charlie Parker records. I thought I was delusional from jet lag.

Punkt.Vrt.Plastik: Somit, Ben Goldberg: Everything Happens to Be, John Patitucci, Vinnie Colaiuta, Bill Cunliffe: Trio, Enrico Morello: Cyclic Signs, Ches Smith and We All Break: Path of Seven Colors and Dan Wilson: Vessels of Wood and Earth.

Sarah Vaughan: Sarah Vaughan, Ocelot: Ocelot and Jim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn.

Archie Shepp, Jason Moran: Let My People Go, Jakob Bro: Uma Elmo and Ethan Iverson: Bud Powell in the 21st Century.