A preview of Newport Jazz Fest 2023 through tracks by artists we love.

Angel Bat Dawid and Terence Etc. team up with vocals from the Cybertronic Cosmic Chorus to wish MLK Jr. a happy birthday. Or a “Re-Birthday”. Released on January 16th – when else? You’ll dig Angel Bat Dawid’s ephemeral clarinet lines that disappear like chem trails across the musical tablature. It’s the only 4-minute long birthday song you’ll ever need in your life.

Julius Rodriguez enjoys a sense of the playful. To wit, the FX hint of phaser (or flanger, or who knows) coloring the keys in the header to this jazz jammer. It’s a quick wink at the listener before the artist backs off the stompboxes and settles down in cool and classic territory, leading the tight quartet through its paces. Hump Day News found this single “Blues At The Barn” floating around on Bandcamp. You might like it even better as the opening number of his full-length record Let Sound Tell All.

Did you check out that vinyl? The wily bass god Thundercat teams up with Tame Impala to produce a sun-drenched, disco confection. Did you check out that vinyl? Thundercat loves to partner with rock and rock-adjacent acts – he’s headed out on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Strokes this year. Did you check out that vinyl? Who got more say on this collab? Hard to say, it’s got that Thundercat funk decked out with Tame Impala production.

The smoky folk stylings of Arooj Aftab hover on the edge of liminality. You’ll pick out verses and the typical rudiments of pop song structure here and there, but the heart and soul of our highlighted track “Mohabbat” is given over the gently dilating raga that opens the window to a thousand sunny days and moon-filled nights. Apologies if you wanted the olfactory accompaniment to the full album Vulture Prince – the perfume edition of the LP is sold out on Bandcamp.

The title track off Louis Cato’s Reflections confronts the singer with a new reality of love that he’s not quite ready to grasp. No worries, love takes a hold of you, not the other way around. The steady wag of the electric guitar keeps the RnB jam on keel while Cato’s soulful vocals tap dance above the rooftops.

James Brandon Lewis and the Red Lily Quartet brings you the single “Precious Lord” off their full-length For Mahalia, With Love. Really full-length; a 2xLP vinyl record situation with gorgeous cover art depicting the subject of dedication, Mahalia Jackson, gospel music legend. Appropriate to its theme, the instrumental breathes the spirit of reverence and joy. In fact, what sounds like a mournful dirge turns into righteous exaltation by the closing note.

If the backing music sounds spare, focus on the words. Our highlighted song “Hada Alegre” is an adaptation of a poem by Samuel Feijoo. The singer-songwriter Melvis Santa pays the poet his full dues by giving just enough musical framing to put the poem on a pedestal. Shout out to the percussion of Coayo Jr. and teardrop guitar solo of Dayron Ortiz.

This song will leave you (wait for it, wait for it)... “Shook”. Off the full-length Deadpan Love. Pazzy, joppy, RnB hoppy. Cautious Clay mixes genres like mustachioed characters mix your martinis. And it all goes down smooth…

Dig the horns on our highlighted track “Serene”. Feels like an entree to your favorite Bee Gees band, disco era. No doubt, the bass player in Adi Oasis wants to keep the rhythm danceable. Add the vocal polyphony on top and you’ve got a song made for hitching a ride on the nearest cloud tuft. Extra points for the tripped out synth solo.