Thomas Conrad, Andrey Henkin

Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells; Branford Marsalis Quartet: Belonging; François Couturier and Dominique Pifarély: Preludes and Songs; Noah Preminger: Ballads; Jim Snidero: Bird Feathers.

Larry Goldings: I Will; The Fury: Live in Brooklyn; Joachim Kühn: Échappée.

Jazz and film have long sustained an intimate creative relationship. Jazz is a cinematic art form because it is intuitive, improvisatory, and embedded in the moment. The aural imagery of jazz is perfect for insinuating shifts of mood. No wonder jazz is often used in film scores. No wonder there are so many jazz interpretations of movie themes. The three excellent new albums discussed below are cases in point.

Avishai Cohen: Ashes to Gold; Matt Slocum: Lion Dance; John Hollenbeck: Colouring Hockets.

Donald Vega: All Is Merry and Bright; Kris Davis Trio: Run the Gauntlet; Sarah Hanahan: Among Giants.

Giovanni Guidi: A New Day; Jordina Millà/Barry Guy: Live In Munich; Neta Raanan: Unforeseen Blossom; Misha Tsiganov: Painter of Dreams.

Miguel Zenón: Golden City
Zenón, alto saxophone; eight others
Miel Music MZ10 (CD). 2024. Zenón, prod.; Ryan Streber, eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½

In the current, not-so-new millennium, there have been very few jazz musicians more decorated than Miguel Zenón. Among the many accolades he has received are Grammy awards and nominations, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Fellowship (known as the "Genius Grant"). He has lived at or near the top of the major jazz polls for years on his instrument, the alto saxophone.