Featured Label,
Recent Highlights from Savant Records
Originally founded in the late 1990s by father and son duo Joe and Barney Fields, Savant Records was created as an imprint for the latest boundary-pushing contemporary jazz of the time. Joe Fields originally worked for Prestige Records before founding his own label Muse in the 1970s, later selling Muse to simultaneously found Savant alongside HighNote Records, the latter of which being the more traditional counterpart to Savant. Both labels are still going strong, and today Savant boasts a roster of great current jazz talent, from J.D. Allen III to Alan Broadbent and Jim Snidero, with plenty of new titles releasing this year alone.
Check out some of our favourite recent albums from Savant Records below...
The most recent release on this list comes to us from four-time Grammy nominee and trombonist Conrad Herwig, who has already released albums re-interpreting the works of John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Horace Silver through his Latin jazz lens. This time (no surprises here) he's turned his attention to Charles Mingus, with The Latin Side of Mingus including classic tunes 'Better Get Hit in Your Soul' and 'Good-Bye Pork Pie Hat' and many more with a raucousness befitting Mingus' music.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Drummer and film producer Richard Baratta followed up his 2020 debut Music in Film: The Reel Deal with The Sequel, another album marrying the worlds of cinema and jazz music. Beginning his music career as a young newcomer to the New York loft scene, Baratta later transitioned into the film industry in the mid-80s, but never lost his appreciation for jazz. For this second studio outing Baratta and the rest of the sextet on The Sequel play tunes taken from The Pink Panther, Star Wars, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory just to name a few.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
J.D. Allen's Americana, Vol. 2 sees the saxophonist reflecting on his roots via the incorporation of blues and American history, forming a trilogy with his two previous Savant albums - 2016's Americana: Musings on Jazz and Blues, and 2019's Barracoon. As well as long-time bandmates Rudy Royston and Gregg August, he's also joined this time around by virtuoso guitarist Charlie Hunter, who offers his equally blues-informed playing style to great effect on Americana, Vol. 2.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Pianist Alan Broadbent returns to Savant with his third recording on the label, featuring his regular bandmates Harvie S (bass) and Billy Mintz (drums). Outside of his trio work Broadbent has earned two Grammy Awards for orchestral vocal accompaniment (as well as 8 further nominations), but for this project he's all about intimate and off-the-cuff ensemble playing, realised across a selection of standards.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
All but one of the smooth organ tunes on Dealin' Wid It were written by pianist/organist Bill Heid himself, channelling his B-3 inspirations like Don Patterson, Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. Playing in a quartet alongside guitarist Perry Hughes, drummer Randy Gelispie and percussionist Kevin "Bujo" Jones, Dealin' Wid It is an excellent modern take on the classic swing of the organ trio (plus one).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Releasing back in February of this year, pianist Bill O'Connell's A Chance Is Gonna Come is an optimistically-titled record in a time of uncertainty. As well as seven O'Connell originals, his quintet - featuring Craig Handy, Lincoln Goines, Pedrito Martinez and drummer Steve Jordan (who currently stands in for the late Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones) - also offer their unique takes on a Coltrane tune, Sam Cooke's title track and a version of 'My Foolish Heart'.
Available Format: CD
Drummer Louis Hayes has worked with a number of other musicians since moving to New York at just 19, originally to join the Horace Silver ensemble (you can hear him on Six Pieces of Silver released in 1957). For his latest album Crisis, he pays tribute to his long list of collaborators, featuring a set including works by Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson and Lee Morgan.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Rising star saxophonist Nicole Glover made a bold statement with her sophomore album being a mostly chordless trio record, though they are occasionally joined by keyboardist George Cables. Using the overarching theme of science fiction as a way to explore the bizarre pandemic years, you'll see titles like 'Hive Queen', 'Twilight Zone', and even the titular 'Strange Lands' popping up, while the two originals chosen - 'A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing' and 'I Concentrate On You' - see Glover attempting to paint a more positive picture of the future.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Another recent release from J.D. Allen, Queen City is instead a purely solo endeavour by the saxophonist, recorded in response to the amount of reflection time granted to him during the pandemic. Far from the avant-garde approach you might expect from an unaccompanied saxophone album, while Queen City is certainly a stark recording, Allen manages to slip in plenty of variety among these tunes.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
