mjzee

https://whiskeyreviewer.com/2012/07/whiskey-on-the-rocks-granite-ice-cubes-and-whiskey-stones/#google_vignette

I like ice melting in my scotch.

$25 for 6. https://store.bluenote.com/collections/drinkware/products/blue-note-granite-whiskey-stones

Riccardo Muti - The Complete Warner Symphonic Recordings, disc 41.

The Cleveland Quartet - The Complete RCA Album Collection, disc 1.

Release date April 25: Legendary Jazz Composer Thad Jones wrote 8 compositions and arrangements for Harry James that he never recorded. The New London Big Band has brought them back to life, with Wayne Bergeron playing the solo trumpet role of Harry James, along with John Riley, longtime drummer with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Thad Jones's legacy ensemble. In addition, the band has recorded a few more charts written by bandleader Sean Nelson.

What is it?

Release date April 18: In 1974 SteepleChase released Perceptions SCCD 31022 by pianist Connie Crothers (1941- 2016) who was one of the prominent students of legendary Lennie Tristano. Now, 50 years later SteepleChase is proud to present Crothers' mentees jazz pianist/free improviser/singer Caroll Leibowitz and alto saxophonist Nick Lyons in tandem inviting us to their unique soundscape that encompasses the past, present and future of jazz. "... almost telepathic... hypnotically engaging..." (Roger Farbey - All About Jazz on Liebowitz-Lyons previous release) Release date May 9: New York's ace trumpeter Joe "Mags" Magnarelli's third outing on SteepleChase is condensed to a quartet format with trumpet as the sole frontline giving the leader new dimension and depth to define his voice.His previous release (SCCD 31939 New York-Osaka Junction) received enthused remarks " he is particularly outstanding, demonstrating a brilliant clarity that could be called the height of sophistication." (Catfish-Records, Japan) and "Magnarelli has always been a jazzman-of-all-work, good in small groups like this one and great at starring in big bands and he's on fire here" (JazzWise-Peter Vacher UK) Release date May 16: After the 45-year world jungle expedition, guitarist/composer/chieftainPierre Dorge takes his tribe to it's home turf Copenhagen's fabled Jazzhus Montmartre to record live their latest album filled with all but one new vibrant compositions by Dorge. Donald Elfman of AAJ once remarked, "Pierre Dorge has what seems like a magical ability - he can re-imagine and re-think the way that music is voiced thus creating entire new worlds out of worlds we think we know."

Release date April 25: When writer-producer David Hajdu was growing up, he was drawn to a mystical book on his mother's shelf entitled Lives of the Saints. This was a collection of tales of Catholic saints and their heroic martyrdom. Later in life, Hajdu began to collect his own stories of ordinary individuals who, through their deeds, attained exalted status in his mind, essentially created his own canon of secular saints. For his new recording, which borrows the same title, Lives of the Saints, Hajdu enlists an assemblage of first-tier composers and performers to tell the stories of ten remarkable people from history, all of whom happen to be women. Women who did extraordinary things but suffered in some ways for what did or what they believed. Hajdu has been writing songs about real-life figures and events for unique collaborations with jazz composers and performers for more than 15 years. Lives of the Saints is his fourth recording of such material. Viewing contemporary songwriting as autobiographical to a fault, Hajdu looks beyond his own experience for inspiration, bringing himself to the material through his idiosyncratic approach to language and creative collaboration. As Stephen Holden of The New York Times has described Hajdu's songs, they are "an unexpected happy marriage of Stephen Sondheim and Joni Mitchell for the 21st century." For Lives of the Saints, Hajdu sought out a group of creative artists he admired but never worked with before. He had never met pianist/composer Helen Sung before reaching out to her. Hajdu had only heard and appreciated her work, especially her Sunnyside debut Sung with Words. Vocalist Aubrey Johnson caught Hajdu's ear and he soon found her writing wonderful but underappreciated. Hajdu had become acquainted with trumpeter Dave Douglas years earlier and sought to renew their association for this project. Finally, Renee Rosnes, Hajdu's longtime collaborator, contributed two music for two pieces. As in his other projects, Hajdu wrote the words and produced the recording, while the composers handled the music. Along with the composers, Hajdu welcomed woodwind player Chet Doxas, cellist Marika Hughes, bassist Simón Willson and drummer Rudy Royston to bring these pieces to life. The subjects of the song vary from the famous to the unknown, from ancient history to the recent past. Hajdu came to know Lena Horne well near the end of her life, as he interviewed and befriended her around the time he wrote a book on Billy Strayhorn. Hedy Lamarr was someone Hajdu had long wanted to write about. Hajdu and Douglas brainstormed together to hatch plans to write about Hypatia and Leonora Carrington. Johnson suggested a song about Ada Lovelace, who coincidentally, Hajdu had just studied and wrote about for a new book.There are many ways to be saintly, and not every way is always duly honored. David Hajdu's Lives of the Saints celebrates a group of secular heroes whose varied achievements are beyond belief.

When I see current ECM covers, I think "I'd like for them to design my house."

Release date April 25: Jazz pianist par excellence, Cyrus Chestnut, returns to the HighNote catalog with a superb new piano quartet recording. This highly anticipated album showcases Chestnut's rhythmic precision, emotive touch, and improvisational flair complemented by an ensemble that provides both subtlety and drive. The combination of Chestnut's expressive piano playing with the string bass of Gerald Cannon and the propulsive beats of Chris Beck creates a sound that provides a luxurious background of vibrant color for the saxophone of Stacy Dillard. Chestnut's previous recordings on HighNote Records, including Kaleidoscope, and My Father's Hands, were met with widespread critical acclaim. JazzTimes lauded his "virtuosic piano playing," while Down Beat declared him "one of the finest jazz pianists of his generation." This new recording is sure to add to that legacy, as Chestnut and his colleagues offer an imaginative set list comprised mostly of the leader's original works, spotlighting his distinctive compositional voice. It is required listening for anyone who appreciates the extraordinarily communicative depth of jazz piano ensembles.

Release date April 25: With the formation of David's Murray's newest Quartet - one of the jazz world's revelations of 2024 - he has re-emerged as a leading voice of the current state of the art. For their Impulse! Records debut, the band recorded at Van Gelder Studio and drew inspiration from music that pre-dates the human race - bird song. `Birdly Serenade' serves as a new installment of The Birdsong Project - six of the originals took shape at an artists' retreat in the Adirondacks, amidst lakes, forests, and endless sky.

Release date May 2: Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a poignant project, titled after a line of verse by poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks "Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?" Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time. While drawing upon the traditional modes of Arab music, Brahem has consistently sought to engage with the wider world, too, and found inspiration in many sources from different cultures. Bassist Dave Holland and pianist Django Bates are again part of the Tunisian oud master's international quartet, joined now by cellist Anja Lechner.

Just noticed that Dusty Groove has this 5 LP set for $9.99. If you like Hines, snap it up. Two of the discs are a quartet with Budd Johnson. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/558790/Earl-Hines:Father-Of-Modern-Jazz-Piano-5LP-box-set

This is also a very good album: