Across the globe, the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying lockdowns have challenged musicians to create new opportunities for collaboration and find inventive ways to approach their creative process. Renowned creators Lenny Pickett and John Hadfield seized the moment to produce a beautiful new EP, Heard By Others, which highlights their long association and explores how the listening experience, for musicians and audience alike, is shaped by isolation and the desire for interpersonal connection.

Reabsorb is a dramatic new work for sextet from critically acclaimed saxophonist/composer, Jon Armstrong. In Armstrong’s own words, the music is “a meditation on our own mortality, a journey from raging against the inevitable, to acceptance, to transcendence, and the reabsorption of our spirit back into the universal consciousness of all life.” Conceived as two continuous sides of vinyl, full of inventive playing by a stellar sextet, the two compositions were inspired by two single-stanza poems by Erin Armstrong, whose prose articulates humanity’s struggle with the awesome and unfathomable fact that we all must die:

For trumpeter, composer, producer Dan Rosenboom, being an artist is about seeking connection and shared consciousness while reflecting the times in which we live. From his own musical pursuits to his ever-expanding Orenda Records label, Rosenboom seeks to highlight the interconnectedness of human culture, thought, and spirit in both grounded and imaginative ways. His latest Orenda release, Points on an Infinite Line, presents a suite of seven sketches and an absurdist epilogue performed by a quartet of friends, and asserts that composition, performance, improvisation, and artistic interaction are part of a larger cultural and philosophical continuum, stretching infinitely forward and backward through time.

Midnight Masquerade is the newest album from experimental rock group Snow Nerds. This album is defined by its enticing beats, unique instrumentals, and charming absurdity. Stylistically it occupies an intriguing space between jazz, funk, and post-punk; a space in which dance music can live along side experimental improvisation. At the heart of Snow Nerds is the musical history of saxophonist Ted Taforo and guitarist Jake Sucher. The pair have been writing music and performing together since their days in music school years ago.

Rainbow Baby, the third and most personal recording as a leader by jazz pianist and composer Cathlene Pineda, is an impressionist rendering of four years of motherhood, pregnancy, loss, and, ultimately, love. It is a personal tale with a universal theme. Also, featuring Kris Tiner (trumpet), David Tranchina (bass), and Tina Raymond (drums).