Singer Malene Mortensen has been around on the Danish scene for a decade-and-a-half gradually getting better known beyond her native land as a singer with a memorable pure-toned voice displaying a good deal of range and one who can combine Great American Songbook material with more recent repertoire in a contemporary modern-jazz style without being remotely cheesy.

The meeting of great minds usually happens behind closed doors, but for two of the world's foremost bassists – Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer – the collaboration proved so fruitful that a duo album exploring their collective backgrounds in jazz, folk, classical, bluegrass and funk was born.

It's a grand gathering of the Lords of the Lower Frequencies: bassists Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Haslip, Christian McBride, Gerald Veasley, and Richard Bona are united under a groove to celebrate their hero, Jaco Pastorius. Jaco's homeboy Peter Graves (who employed the bassist in his south Florida big band before he hit it big with Weather Report in 1975) was the mastermind behind this awesome assembly. Under Graves's direction these Jaco gems, mostly from his Weather Report days and his first solo recording, highlight Pastorius' powerful influence.

West of 5th is an exciting jazz recording that features pianist Hank Jones, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Listeners are offered a unique opportunity to hear two esteemed veterans playing with a stellar young musician. Jones and Cobb first rose to fame performing with talents as diverse as Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins and others.

Jazz piano icon Chick Corea presents "Trilogy" released under Stretch Records/Concord Jazz - A live, triple-CD document of his virtuosic trio with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade. The album ranges from reinventions of classic Corea compositions and previously unrecorded originals to an array of jazz standards and even freshly re-imagined Scriabin.

Roy Haynes is a legendary drummer who's had a very long and illustrious career, and he is still going strong with incredible energy and vitality. For this album – now considered a classic – Eighty-Eight's producer Yasohachi Itoh put together an all-star, intergenerational band around him: Kenny Barron and David Kikoski on piano, Dave Holland and Christian McBride on bass, Joshua Redman on sax and John Scofield on guitar.

In 1962, Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus and Max Roach created one of the pivotal jazz recordings of the 1960s. "Money Jungle" provided commentary on the perennial tug-of-war between art and commerce. GRAMMY Award-winning drummer, composer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington, Gerald Clayton and Christian McBride pay homage to Duke, his trio and his creative vision with a cover of this historic recording. Carrington also enlists guest artists to help with the rearrangements and reinterpretations. These musicians include: Clark Terry, Robin Eubanks, Tia Fuller, Antonio Hart, Nir Felder, Arturo Stabile, Shea Rose and Lizz Wright. Also included are two Carrington originals, “Grass Roots” and “No Boxes (Nor Words)”, along with “Cut Off”, a delicate piece written by Clayton. Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue brings fresh light and energy to this jazz classic.

Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn is an album by jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson. Composed of songs written by Billy Strayhorn, the album was a critical and commercial success, leading to the first of three Grammy Awards Henderson would receive while under contract with Verve Records. The album had sold nearly 90,000 copies at the time of Henderson's death in 2001 and has been re-released by Verve, Polygram, and in hybrid SACD format by Universal.

Recorded at the historic Olympia Theatre in Paris in November 2001, this is Diana Krall's first live album. Backed by her quicksilver combo of bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and guitarist Anthony Wilson, Krall's jazz heritage comes through loud and clear on this program of standards, ballads, and bossa novas. Her cool contralto vocals are illuminated by the Orchestre Symphonique Europeen, under the direction of Alan Broadbent, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Claus Ogerman. Krall's deep take on Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" is a great choice for an encore, and the album concludes with Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" (a studio track from a film called The Guru), with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker and bassist Christian McBride. This collection only hints at what Diana Krall has to offer in the future.

On their own, bassists Ray Brown, John Clayton, and Christian McBride are three of the most talented musicians in jazz today. But, performing together as Superbass, the trio becomes a sublime ensemble, capable of inventive, virtuosic playing with no accompaniment needed or wanted from horns or percussion. Recorded live at the Blue Note club in New York over the course of a couple of sets in December 2000, this disc joyously defies logic–who knew that the upright bass was capable of singing solos from Porgy and Bess?–and standard musical conventions. Together, these guys produce a tender take "My Funny Valentine," an upbeat version of "Get Happy," and a funky Latin jazz number ("Taco with a Pork Chop") that would do Willie Bobo proud. All the while, the threesome is having a great time and taking plenty of solo turns. They've done this routine before–on the first live Superbass disc–but this one takes the cake; the playing is incredible.

Acclaimed jazz keyboardist and Grammy-nominee John Beasley pays tribute to the great Herbie Hancock in "Letter to Herbie". On this 10-song album listeners can hear Beasley's two original songs, "Three Finger Snap" and "Here and Now". Overall, Letter to Herbie is a powerful way for Beasley to say thank you to one of his musical heros.

This record is the fruit of McBride’s long association with the Vanguard, where his first appearance as a leader for the historic club was in 1995. In 2007, the bassist and charismatic club owner Lorraine Gordon started an annual one-week residency, which featured McBride’s quintet, Inside Straight.

Lee Ritenour is one of music’s greatest players; his historic career spans five decades and boasts over forty albums. For his latest release, Rhythm Sessions, the legendary guitarist enlists a star-studded cast of veterans and promising newcomers including Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and winners from his Annual Six String Theory International Competition. This diverse project features a variety of sounds and grooves, all rooted in jazz, but with hints of funk, R&B, Latin and world music. Focusing on the rhythm sections, Ritenour penned various tracks and selected works by greats including Herbie Hancock and Nick Drake. This multi-layered and multi-textural work is engaging from the first note.

"Illuminations" finds the iconic pianist, McCoy Tyner, leading a star-studded affair that features trumpeter Terence Blanchard, bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist Gary Bartz and drummer Lewis Nash. The eclectic album features compositions written by Tyner, stunning covers and works by fellow bandmates. Included on the album are the blistering Latin-inspired “Angelina”, the joyous “New Orleans Stomp”, and Blachard’s energetic “Blessings”. The album would win the GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

A live recording by the Super Quartet that was realized at Makoto Ozone's annual Christmas concert held in Tokyo in December 2013 has finally been released 10 years after the performance.