Amanda McBroom and Ann Hampton Callaway: “Almost” (LML Records) isn’t an album but it is special and worthy to be in the spotlight. The duet by these frequent collaborators, both singer
-songwriters, was composed on the spot during one of their meetings, with lyric by McBroom and music by Callaway. Producers-arrangers are Stephan Oberhoff and Michele Brourman, with Brourman on piano and Oberhoff providing guitar, bass, drums and percussion. The single is available for digital download on all platforms.
Joanie Pallatto: Accidental Melody featuring Fareed Haque (Southport Records) features thirteen new songs from the singer-songwriter with virtuoso guitarist and co-producer Fareed Haque. The 
recording features an acoustic ensemble, with percussionist Eric Hines, Juan Pastor on cajon and percussion, the acoustic bass of John Christensen and pianist Bradley Parker-Sparrow. Writer, author and poet Achy Obejas contributed liner notes. Pallatto has been a mainstay on the Chicago music scene for over 44 years. A studio singer and an independent recording and performing artist, she is also the co-owner with Sparrow of Southport Records, which has produced hundreds of recordings for local musicians over the years.
Michael Colby: Other Lives: The Story Songs of Michael Colby (Jay Records), a cycle of story songs by lyricist Michael Colby (Charlotte Sweet, Ludlow Ladd), with music by a variety of composers, including Alex Rybeck, Larry Hochman, Joseph Thalken and Steven Silverstein, produc
ed by John Yap. The CD features Musical Director Michael Lavine accompanying veterans Janet Aldrich, Bethe Austin, Ari Axelrod, Klea Blackhurst, Stephen Bogardus, Le Donna Burns, David Edwards, Sarah Rice, Luke Nephat, Jane Seaman, Dan Hoy, Sean McDermott, Megan Styrna, Marianne Tatum, Maureen Taylor, Deborah Jean Templin, Deborah Tranelli, Joshua Turchin, Stuart Zagnit and newcomers Lauren Baker, Talia Cutulle, and Heeya Kim.
Terry Gibbs: The Terry Gibbs Songbook (Whaling City Sound) celebrates the career of vibraphonist-composer Gibbs, who at age 99 has had a career of over eight decades, The CD features 15 
original songs, including “Let’s Go To Rio” and “I Was Loved.” Additionally, the collaboration between Gibbs and songwriter Bobby Troup appears in “Those Eyes, Those Lips, That Nose, That Face, That Girl.” Soprano sax player and singer Danny Bacher provides the vocals on the album. Among the musicians on the CD are Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen and Tom Ranier, among others. With a discography of 80 albums, Gibbs’ also penned the book, Good Vibes: A Life in Jazz, which received the 37th Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in 2004. A few years later, he was r inducted into the ASCAP Wall of Fame.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK original Broadway cast recording (Wine & Peaches) features 
the show’s complete score, comprising 90 minutes of music, including orchestral interludes. The music and lyrics by Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winners and Academy Award nominees John Kander & Fred Ebb, with additional lyrics by Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda. Like the show, the album will be a love letter to New York City, with music ranging from Afro-Cuban rhythms and traditional Big Band, to classic Broadway showstoppers.
Tatiana Eva Marie: Two at the Most (Turtle Bay Records) is a collection of romantic songs from the Great American Songbook presented in an intimate duo setting. This is the singer’s seve
nth CD as a leader. She was named “one of the best young singers around” by the Wall Street Journal and was nicknamed the Gypsy-jazz Warbler by the New York Times, with music inspired by her French and Balkan heritage and a love for the Parisian art scene era spanning the 1920s to the 60s. Pianist Jeremy Corren joins the chanteuse on features such as “The End of a Love Affair,” “Penthouse Serenade,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “You Go to My Head” and more. Between them, Tatiana Eva-Marie and Corren create a retro feel that would not be out of place in a 1940s nightclub. They play together regularly, and their empathy and mutual respect is palpable.
Clifford Jordan: Drink Plenty Water (Harvest Song Records) spent 49 years on the shelf. This long lost jazz recording from t
he late tenor sax master has been issued thanks to the efforts of Jordan’s widow. Originally recorded for the Strata-East label in 1974, it is the only release in the Chicago native’s catalog that is primarily a vocal recording, with inventive arrangements courtesy of bassist Bill Lee. Joining Jordan on tenor are Donna Jordan Harris and David Smyrl vocalists, with Dick Griffin trombone, Bill Hardman trumpet, Charlie Rouse bass clarinet, Bernard Fennell cello, Stanley Cowell piano, Sam Jones bass, Bill Lee bass & arr., Billy Higgins drums, Kathy O’Boyle, Denise Williams, Muriel Winston backup vocalists.
Maci Miller: Nine is the singer’s second release following a nearly decade-long hiatus to focus on adopting and raising her daughter, Ruby. Nine is t
he number of musicians that Miller and producer-pianist-writing partner Aaron Graves have assembled for this project. The pair are joined by bassist Mike Boone, tenor sax player Larry McKenna, Victor North on soprano sax and drummers Byron Landham, Leon Jordan Sr. and Josh Orlando, with guest trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. Miller and Graves collaborated on six of the album’s nine tracks, which include “Little Bird,” “Complicated,” “I Can’t Wait” and “Love Me For Who I Am.” In addition to the original songs, the album includes a rendition of Chick Corea’s “High Wire,” the standard “The Nearness of You” and Miller’s new lyric for Cedar Walton’s “Firm Roots.”
Harry Allen: With Roses features the saxophonist and arranger Harry Allen on an album of original songs by Roger Frankham (lyrics by Mark Winkler, Roger Schore and Bruce Brown. Allen applies his swinging,
melodic sax to a program of ten tracks with robust horn sections, plus vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan on most of the numbers. Frankham’s compositions have engaging melodies and affable harmonies, while Harry Allen is a master of imbuing a song with his own aesthetics yet hewing closely to the composer’s spirit and intention. Among the A-list musicians on the CD are John DiMartino (piano) piano, Warren Vache (trumpet)), John Allred (trombone) and Peter and Will Anderson, each on clarinet.
Joe Iconis: Album (Ghostlight Records) will be released in a special vinyl box set on Friday, August 18, but is now available for pre-0rder. The 5 LP box set includes a 16-page booklet with complete lyrics, artwork and design by Rob 
Carmichael of SEEN, and photography by Marques Walls. “The Whiskey Song” appears as a bonus track. The 45-track album, which was released in streaming and digital formats in 2022, features over 70 members of Iconis’ vast family of collaborators including Aaron Tveit, Andrew Ranells, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Krysta Rodriguez, Kerry Butler, Danny Burstein, Annie Golden, George Salazar, Will Roland and many more. Album includes a variety of musical genres showcasing Iconis’s ability to find moments of drama in the seemingly mundane. Album also features previously-unheard songs as well as Iconis classics recorded for the first time. Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony®Award, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award and a Richard Rodgers Award.
the release that launched Keith Jarrett’s great Standards Trio. The album arrives on the heels of the pianist-composer’s recent album, 2021’s SLOWLY: Song for Keith Jarrett. The new CD features Haidu with bassists Buster Williams and Peter Washington, drummer Lewis Nash and guest saxophonist Steve Wilson. The album opens with “Old Folks” and “Just In Time” and also includes standards “All The Way,” “You and the Night and the Music” and “Stardust” in addition to two Haidu originals. 
” and a Latin-tinged version of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy.” The main tracks were recorded over two days at Opus Recording in Berkeley, California. Instrumental overdubs, editing and final mixes were completed by Obiedo at his Werewolf Studios in Oakland, California. The originals explore significant periods in Chloé’s development. The opening track, “Black Sheep,” for instance is about the struggles of being an artistic person in less than sympathetic surroundings. Fairy Tale Fail warns that life does not always have Disney endings.
Sondheim’s singular musical theater canon, following the viral hits Keep A Tender Distance and its follow-up A Perfect Little Death. Acoustic Sondheim features a special guest duet with Broadway’s Bobby Conte (Company, A Bronx Tale). The CD uses her simple solo guitar and pure voice to strip away all extra production elements, making this Ward’s most intimate collection yet. The set features selections from both A Perfect Little Death (“Children Will Listen,” “Send in the Clowns”), and Keep A Tender Distance (“Move On”).
