Linda May Han Oh & Melissa Aldana: Beneath Lifted Skies

Bassist Linda May Han Oh and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, two modern jazz powerhouses, have recorded one of 2026's most delightful jazz surprises, the duet album Beneath Lifted Skies (Biophilia Records, 2026). Oh and Aldana are two of the music's strongest contemporary players, potent in both overall skill as well as sound, and that intensity serves them well on the album. The atmosphere is robust without the forcefulness overwhelming the form.

The album consists mostly of standards that span the spectrum of mid-20th-century jazz music, along with a smattering of originals. All the factors involved here serve the songs well—the duo structure, the skill of the musicians, as well as Oh's and Aldana's unique perspectives and backgrounds. Neither musician grew up in the United States (Oh is of Chinese origin and was born in Malaysia and raised in Australia. Aldana is Chilean). These features combine for an exciting elevation of the selections.

Beneath Lifted Skies begins with a cover of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's "Anthropology," and Aldana honors the bebop origins of the tune by kicking off immediately with fast, fluid blowing above an equally rapid Oh bass line. It is an exhilarating start. Another bebop-era selection, Bud Powell's "Hallucinations," follows. The musicians' take on the composition, obviously written for piano but which Aldana effectively adapts for the saxophone, is slower and more of a swinger. It is a quick take, however, as the duo moves on before any sort of unwanted repetition sets in.

The duo's take on John Coltrane's "26-2" is fairly straightforward, but Aldana's saxophone honors the legacy of her tenor forefather by interpreting the song's melody exquisitely. Rather than simply falling back and providing a rhythm, Oh provides her own interpretation of the song's main tune.

Oh and Aldana combined on three original improvisational compositions on the album. "Infinite" is meditative and bluesy, with Oh beautifully filling in the spaces left by Aldana. "Resolve" has both Oh and Aldana improvising over the same melody—a somewhat melancholy, even heartbreaking, motif that enables the listener to truly form an emotional connection with the musicians. "Shoulder to Shoulder" is another extended blues piece, beginning with an expansive Oh solo before Aldana contributes long, contemplative notes.

The album's wonderful version of "God Bless the Child" references the most feminine source material on the album, with Billie Holiday's legendary vocals never far from mind. The cover is an Oh solo, with her bass being more subtle than an average piano or other traditional lead instrument, but that delicacy translates into intensity, particularly given the song involved. The album closes with another Oh solo, "Winter," which she wrote, and it is jaunty and optimistic. Her folksy, peppy bass ends the collection on a charmingly pleasing note.