Record Store Day 2026; Big Ears Gets Bigger; Marta Sanchez, Thomas Stronen, Sungtaek Choo, Tommy Emmanuel and Noah Stoneman; Songs of the Week and more

This week's newsletter is packed to the rafters, so there should be something here for everyone. It was also a strong week for the platform—reinforcements arrived, and we're back to building new features and addressing issues. Most notably, we implemented new Cloudflare rules to mitigate bad bot activity, which had been holding up several initiatives. If we can string together a few more weeks like this, we'll be fully back on track.

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Album Reviews

The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews.

Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard Immanuel Wilkins Quartet	Side-Eye III+ Pat Metheny	Stars Aligned Frode Kjekstad Qrt	Deface the Currency The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
Memento Marilyn Crispell, Anders Jormin	Alkebulan Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra	Coldblooded Alicia Hall Moran	American Crow Maria Schneider Orchestra

Looking for an album review?

If you're a musician, publicist, or record label seeking album review coverage on All About Jazz, please read our review submission guide, then complete the coverage request form here. When submitting your request, include up to five AAJ album reviewers who best align with your music. For example, if it's a big band or large ensemble recording, select Jack Bowers. You can familiarize yourself with our staff, here.

Big Ears 2026

Another year, another jam-packed festival lineup. Guitar spotlights included three shows by Marc Ribot; a performance of Nels Cline's Lovers , making good on a 2018 snowstorm-canceled performance; and Pat Metheny's Side-Eye III+. Ragamala offered a full-day series of South Asian classical music, including a performance by legendary violinist L. Shankar; Robert Plant appeared with Saving Grace and Suzi Dian; and the Los Angeles quintet SML had a three-night, six-show residency. Continue reading...

Also read Todd Steed's personal perspective on the Big Ears Festival, here.

Record Store Day 2026 Jazz Releases

Many vinyl enthusiasts get excited when the Record Store Day lists appear, and understandably so: most of the titles are limited-run pressings that can disappear quickly once the doors open. The only drawback, however, is that the lists can be overwhelming to sort through, often spanning multiple pages and covering releases across a wide range of genres. Record Store Day always features jazz to some degree. Sometimes there are more available titles than at other times, and Record Store Day 2026 offers an especially strong lineup. This year's jazz titles range from major archival discoveries and carefully restored historical recordings to classic reissues and cutting-edge experimental projects. To help navigate the flood of releases, the following guide highlights a selection of jazz titles scheduled for Record Store Day on April 18, 2026. Continue reading...

Marta Sánchez: Hitting a Different Note

Marta Sánchez has established herself as one of the up-and-coming musicians in the jazz field, as evinced by her 2025 DownBeat Critics Poll in the Rising Star Pianist category win. In addition to her prowess on the piano, she is a skilled composer, whose compositions with her quintet over the past decade have shown an intricate capacity for writing for horns and interweaving her piano with the other instruments. In the past few years, she has been paring down her sound, first releasing a trio recording, Perpetual Void (Intakt Records, 2024), in 2024, her first trio recording since 2008's Lunas, Soles y Elefantes. And in 2026, Sánchez released her first solo piano recording, For the Space You Left (Out Of Your Head Records, 2026). She continues to work as a band member with ensembles such as the David Murray Quartet and the Anna Webber/Angela Morris Big Band. Continue reading...

The 1920s: Jazz Becomes America's Soundtrack

With the end of both World War I and the deadly flu pandemic that killed untold millions of people, the United States welcomed the new decade with open arms and a sense of optimism. The 1920s were one of the most eventful periods in American history. The Prohibition Era, from 1920 to 1933, gave rise to gangster bootleggers like Al Capone running speakeasies. Women got the vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920 and were inspired to rebel against Victorian-era restrictions of dress and behavior. These mostly young women were known as flappers and symbolized the Roaring Twenties with their bobbed hair and short skirts. They smoked, they drank, and they danced wildly to the Charleston. Continue reading...

How John Coltrane Changed Rock Music: Beyond Psychedelia

Something happened to me
Something oh so groovy
Something happened to me yesterday

These lines are from The Rolling Stones's 1967 song, "Something Happened To Me Yesterday." Although not one of The Stones's most memorable hits, it does hint at some important considerations. First, and possibly foremost, this song is often interpreted as reflecting the era's fascination with LSD, and shortly after the release of this song, psychedelia quickly became part of the mainstream. Continue reading...

Songs of the Week

We presented a couple of top-shelf straight-ahead pieces last week. This week we feature two fine vocal tracks. Enjoy them.

Top Songs

The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive.

Walkside From the album While I Was Away By Julia Hulsmann	Gravity From the album Convergence By Björn Meyer	Mumbo Jumbo From the album Dream Archives By Craig Taborn	Autumn Serenade From the album Autumn Serenade By The Cafe Society
Aqui, Oh! From the album Aqui, Oh! [Feat. Flora Purim & Airto Moreira] By Ricardo Bacelar	Gods and Devils From the album Easter Island Suite By John Vanore	The Jazz Brothers Visit Curtis Street From the album Home By Keith Oxman	Moonglow From the album Uma Noite De Jazz Em São Paulo By Hector Costita

Choice Content

Take Five with Pianist Noah Stoneman (read); Big Ears Gets Bigger: A Personal Perspective (read); Record Store Day 2026 Additional Releases (read); Alma Mićić's Balkan Soul in the Brave New World (read); Muku ArtActs 26 (view photos); Dave Holland & Lionel Loueke at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa (view photos); Jamile and Vinicius Gomes: Endangered Species (listen); Francesca Tandoi Trio at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa (view photos); Miles Davis Centennial Celebration At SFJAZZ 2026 (read); Ogun Recordings: Small Is Beautiful (read); Drum Tao at Zellerbach Hall (read); Guitar and Bass Reviews featuring Josh Achiron (read); Emmet Cohen at Strathmore Music Center (read)

Radio & Podcasts

Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.

Live At The Bop Stop: Dave Solazzo and the Bridge (listen); The Outer View: Audrey Ochoa, Mary Lou Williams, and Michael Garrick (listen); Allston Boylston: Outstanding new release from Maria Grand, newly discovered live Roy Hargrove, Tia Fuller with Shamie Fuller-Royston and Simon Moullier (listen); Mondo Jazz: Aubrey Johnson, Joe Henderson, Bévort 3, Noé Huchard, Björn Meyer (listen); Exploration: Classic jazz from Hazel Scott, Johnny Griffin, and others; recently released from Christopher McBride, Simon Mogul, and more (listen); The Stereo Image: Leonard Slatkin: Classical to Jazz to Hollywood and back (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Eyal Vilner Big Band, Nicole Zuraitis, Entre Amigos, Leslie Vincent, Chenxi Pan & More (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Jesse Davis, Jazzlab Orchestra, Xavi Rekja, New Jazz Underground (listen); Strictly Jazz Sounds: Jaleel Shaw: Painting the Invisibility in Jazz (listen); Jazz Bastard: From New Age to Nuclear (listen); Neon Jazz: Ornette Coleman, Bill Evans, Ulysses Owens, Jr., Paul Edis & Noa Levy (listen); Jazz Backstory: It Only Takes One Note (listen); The Tonearm: Bellbird: Montreal's Jazz Collective Heeds The Call (listen); Mondo Jazz: Meg Okura, Ben Wendel, Brian Marsella, Sae Hashimoto, Dominique Fils-Aimé, PDuRN (listen); Jazz On The Tyne: Noa Levy, Paul Edis & A Portrait in Evans (listen); Jazz Crumbs: Joel Ross, Jesper Thorn, Naoya Ogura, Alessandro Castriota Scanderbeg & more (listen); The First Instrument Jazz Show: The Sistering Project, Joe Williams, Gillian Margot, Nicole Zuraitis and Many More (listen); Jazz Connections: Plays Duke, Part III: More contemporary covers of Ellington's best loved tunes. (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Douglas, Xangorchestra, Mycio, HøIby And More (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra, Hendrik Meurkens, Alexander Claffy, Noa Levy & Paul Edis and more (listen); Allston Boylston: Billy Childs Trio, Inara George, Faye Carol, and Resonance Records presents newly unearthed Mal Waldron cut featuring Sonny Stitt (listen).

News Announcements

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.

Art Trio Releases Watch As The Echo Falls On Calligram Records (read); Bassist/Composer John Pachnos Introduces Himself With A Fully Formed Vision On 'John Pachnos,' Arriving May 15 On Avgonyma Music (read); Queen Of The Violin Kersten Stevens Holds Court In Fairfield County With One-night-only Live Album Recording (read); Chart-topping Chante Moore Slated To Perform In "Tribute To Maurice White" Concert, May 9-10 (read); New Music From Chicago Soul Jazz Collective And Dee Alexander On Calligram Records (read); Lee Mendelson Film Productions Celebrates 75 Years of Vince Guaraldi Music with the Premiere Release of the Soundtrack to the Classic PEANUTS Specials (read); Peyton Griffin's New Single 'Antigua' Transports Listeners To An Island Paradise (read).

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Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
Read more posts by Michael Ricci