News of Past Guests, May-June 2015 Edition

Remember that terrific new Dafnis Prieto Sextet album we told you about? The New York Times' Ben Ratliff likes it a lot, as does Kevin Whitehead, who reviewed it on NPR's Fresh Air:

Several days later, Anat Cohen's cover of the Flying Lotus tune "Putty Boy Strut" wound up on NPR Music's "Songs We Love" feature.

And then, to complete the NPR-RJA Trifecta, who should show up on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert but big-shot pianist Vijay Iyer and his trio:

(Iyer also appeared on NPR's Jazz Night in America, in a set broadcast from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Some guys get all the good gigs!)

Brand-New Releases Dept.: David Berkman returns to his old label Palmetto with a sextet that includes bassist Linda Oh and drummer Brian Blade, performing his first studio collection of new originals in over a decade. It's called Old Friends and New Friends. Listen to one track here and another below:

Drummer Antonio Sanchez returns with a double-album of trio music, Three Times Three, and his trio-mates include pianist Brad Mehldau, guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and bassists Matt Brewer, Christian McBride, and John Patitucci.  Liner notes and track samples at the CamJazz label website; cover story in the July issue of DownBeat; and (okay--I guess this makes it the NPR quad-fecta) All Things Considered story right here:

And our old friend Scott Amendola brings out a recording of his orchestral work Fade to Orange, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony, built around his trio (with Trevor Dunn and Nels Cline) and performed back in 2010.  You can order it at Scott's online store.  Here's the EPK:

And finally (for now), a slew of upcoming albums.  First, John Hollenbeck's sequel to Songs I Like a Lot, entitled--pay close attention now--Songs We Like a Lot:

Canada Day vibraphonist Chris Dingman's The Subliminal and the Sublime:

And Dave Douglas's foray into electronica, High Risk (there's also a video EPK):

Then, a trio of albums on the British label Whirlwind. Here's the title track from the debut album by guitarist Matthew Stevens (Linda Oh's Sun Pictures):

Pianist Ivo Neame (Phronesis) has a new one called Strata:

And Joel Harrison's Spirit House went into Fantasy Studios in Berkeley just days after they visited Arcata back in April 2013. Here's a sample of the results: