Joe Chambers, "Dance Kobina" (Blue Note). Classic Blue Note drummer-vibraphonist Chambers took what could have been limited to a flavorful vault dredge and added Afro-Cuban hand-drum spices (Eli Miller Mabongou & Emilio Valdés) to blend the nine tunes into a distinctive suite, and man, does it bubble. Try the footfree title cut and the restless "Power to the People."
Saturn Quartet, "Luz." The second album by this exceptional New Orleans outfit brings back that smile of stageside connection with the postbop-Latin-Trane tradition. Feels so damn good, like Henry Mancini's "Mr. Lucky" (a fun 1960 cocktail party, but somebody's on bennies), and especially windman Ricardo Pascal's concluding "Mitsuda," whose heart-twisting melody, with strange chords reminiscent of Wayne Shorter, takes you places you didn't know you wanted to go (and what a delicate piano fade by Brendan Polk). The bass and drums of Robin Sherman and Gerald Watkins Jr. bounce off each other like beach balls. Chemistry. Listen/buy here.
Devin Sarno, "Misshapen Heart" (Perceived Sound). Drone as air, water, and feeling at the edges of consciousness, with a hint of drama. Balancing The News with this atmosphere helps make action possible. Listen/buy here.