New albums from Carla Bley, Lisa Hilton, Mark Godfrey, Nutria and Oded Tzur.

There is a striking album of new music from pianist/composer Carla Bley, whose trio with Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow is now in its 25th year. Individual associations among the players go back much further: bassist Swallow first recorded music by Carla in 1961. Bley's distinctive piano, with its hints of Monk and Satie, is beautifully framed by Swallow's eloquent, elegant bass guitar and Sheppard's yearning saxophones. This trio has a unique collective sound.

The award winning composer & acclaimed pianist Lisa Hilton brings together her best band yet with the agile bass of Luques Curtis, Rudy Royston on drums and JD Allen's astounding virtuosity on tenor sax alongside her flowing piano this is beguiling & impressive!

The minivan: a timeless icon that evokes memories ranging from little-league baseball games to nation-wide music tours is on the cover of the debut album from bassist and composer Mark Godfrey, and it hits harder than the sliding door on your family caravan.

Named after the infamous South Louisiana swamp rat, Nutria performs original contemporary jazz music with an emphasis on collective improvisation. Their compositional and improvisational practice at once pushes at the boundaries of instrumental music in the 21st century and situates our music within the lineage of New Orleans jazz and groove traditions.

The debut of New York based, Tel Aviv born saxophonist Oded Tzur, a strikingly original player and musical storyeller. Tzur's graceful and fluid tenor sax sound has been influenced by studies with bansuri master Hariprasad Chaurasia, and the concept of raga is subtly embedded in his elegant compositions, played with verve and imagination by his outstanding Israeli-Greek-American jazz group.

Playlist

• Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Andy Sheppard "Life Goes On" from Life Goes On (ECM) 00:00
• Lisa Hilton "Rush Hour Rhapsody" from Chalkboard Destiny (Self Released) 07:08
• Mark Godfrey "Black Stars" from Square Peg (Self Released) 13:30
• Nutria "Meeting In Progress" from Meeting in Progress (ears&eyes) 22:04
• Oded Tzur "20 Years" from Here Be Dragons (ECM) 31:10
• Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Andy Sheppard "Beautiful Telephones II" from Life Goes On (ECM) 41:46
• Lisa Hilton "Tropic of Tango" from Chalkboard Destiny (Self Released) 48:00
• Volker Heuken, Lorenz Stadtfeld, Max Heigenhuber "Glow" from Hallungen Tapes (Bandcamp) 54:12
• Nutria "Forth" from Meeting in Progress (ears&eyes) 1:00:00
• Mark Godfrey "USS Rent A Car" from Square Peg (Self Released) 1:08:28
• Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Andy Sheppard "Copycat III. Copycat" from Life Goes On (ECM) 1:15:38
• Oded Tzur "Here Be Dragons" from Here Be Dragons (ECM) 1:25:16
• Nutria "Monadnock" from Meeting in Progress (ears&eyes) 1:34:22
• Mark Godfrey "Driving Westbound" from Square Peg (Self Released) 1:43:01
• Lisa Hilton "Cafe au Mojo" from Chalkboard Destiny (Self Released) 1:48:54
• Oded Tzur "The Dream" from Here Be Dragons (ECM) 1:54:40