Catching Up On Our Reading Dept.: There's a really nice profile of trumpeter Tom Harrell in the January DownBeat, which is now available online. The prolific composer/bandleader/recording artist, whose Colors of a Dream made our Top 10 list for last year, will have two albums out in 2014, and he's currently writing for and performing with at least four different groups. What does he want to do next? "As [Gerry] Mulligan said, 'I just maybe want to play one more tune.'"Meanwhile, over at Peter Hum's Jazzblog.ca, hosted by the Ottawa Citizen, Doug Fischer has a lengthy and engaging interview with guitarist John Abercrombie, whose latest album 39 Steps came out last year on ECM.
Last month we told you about drummer Rudy Royston's new album; this month it's another long overdue debut by a top-drawer drummer: Jeff Ballard, co-leader of the FLY trio, has released Time's Tales on the revived "Okeh" label. His trio is rounded out by guitarist Lionel Loueke and alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón.
