This album is truly a meeting of three jazz giants: gifted pianist, composer and arranger, Laurence Hobgood, colossus of the double bass, Charlie Haden and Grammy Award winning vocalist, Kurt Elling. Described by Dave Brubeck as "one of the most incredible pianists I have ever heard", Hobgood has, apart from his solo work, been directing Kurt Elling's Blue Note (and now Concord) recordings for fifteen year.

"Passion World" is the fifth Concord album (and eleventh overall) from vocalist Kurt Elling, living up to its title on both counts. It is indeed his most "worldly" album to date, as Elling casts his net far and wide, from Brazil to Ireland, Germany to France, Scotland to Cuba to Iceland. Guests include the brilliant veteran trumpeter Cuban émigré Arturo Sandoval; the widely lauded young vocalist Sara Gazarek; German trumpet star Till Brönner; French accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano; the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and the world-renowned WDR Big Band and Orchestra from Germany.

SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree is the highly anticipated followup to the 2021 GRAMMY nominated eponymous album, by genre-bending trailblazers Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter. Joining forces with multi-instrumentalist duo drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (of Richmond, VA-based jazz-funk fusion quintet Butcher Brown) for a kaleidoscopic collection of new songs, surprising covers, and dynamic reinventions, these are all animated by crafty production, crack musicianship, and Elling’s instantly identifiable vocal prowess. If the first album was a somewhat radical departure for Elling, SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree is more of an exquisite progression upon the template.

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.

The Laurence Hobgood Trio have perfected their craft through playing with US jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, who appears on two tracks on "Crazy World", the trio's debut album. The ten tracks on the album are a mixture of Laurence's original compositions and his own arrangements, with one track contribured by Rob Amster. Six times Grammy nominee Kurt Elling makes a guest appearance to provide delicate vocal inspiration on two tracks recorded exclusively for this album.

Impulse!/Verve present “The Passion of Charlie Parker”, an album of iconic Parker songs transformed through the addition of lyrics to create a musical play that narrates Bird’s life. Produced by Larry Klein with lyrics by David Baerwald, the album features actor Jeffrey Wright in the role of Parker as narrator, with vocals provided by Wright, Gregory Porter, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Barbara Hannigan, Luciana Souza, Kurt Elling and Camille Bertault.

Piano music is cherished here at Naim Label and we couldn't believe our luck when Ken Christianson persuaded Laurence Hobgood to make a solo recording for us, which also features the Grammy Award winning vocalist Kurt Elling.

Jimmy Greene’s new release, "Beautiful Life" on Mack Avenue Records, is a celebration of the life of his 6-year-old daughter, Ana Márquez-Greene, whose life was tragically taken, along with 19 other children and 6 educators, on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In late January 2013, Greene, feeling that “I needed to get back to some sense of routine,” resumed a regimen of practice and composition. Soon thereafter, Norman Chesky, the co-owner of Chesky Records and HDtracks, reached out with an extraordinary offer.

After scoring his second GRAMMY Award (and 14th nomination) in March 2021, the protean vocalist Kurt Elling hangs an unexpected left turn with SuperBlue for Edition Records. It’s a torrent of roisterous funk, indelible beats and all-too-current lyrics that boasts the talents of producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter and two stars of the hip-hop generation: drummer Corey Fonville and bassist-keyboardist DJ Harrison (both of the genre-hopping band Butcher Brown).