When you’re a music editor, you sit with a pile of advanced CDs you’ve received from labels or individual artists and play them one by one. Some never make it through the second song, but then there are those you play over and over again,and you place them in the most prominent spot in your CD library. One of these A-1 CDs is Rick Braun’s 2011 “Rick Braun Sings with String,” from Mack Avenue Records.

Nine years ago, I coined him as “The Impeccable Michel Camilo.” Impeccable still holds true today, but with the release of his 2011 Decca/EmArcy (Universal Music Group) CD, Mano a Mano, I hear so much more. There is a maturity of a road well-traveled, an elegance of soul, and majesty of spirit within Camilo’s music and performance. When you listen, you understand this is a man who has reached the pinnacle of musical excellence.

What makes a man a legend in his own time? For Dave Grusin, the task has not been lightly taken. Grusin’s prolific career stands omnipresent amongst America’s musical repertoire as he stands included within the ranks of impressive composers who form what we come to know as The Great American Songbook. As a composer/arranger/pianist/ and serious educator, Grusin excels beyond the heights that most only dare to dream. His Grammy-winning and well known classics of the contemporary jazz genre such

Approximately 23 years ago, Harvie S received a telephone call asking if he would be willing to play bass for a new, young musician performing at the JVC. Harvie has always been in demand both here and abroad, and he accepted the offer. The festival went off without a hitch and over the following months, that young musician, pianist Bill Charlap, and Harvie S became friends. And as friends and musicians, they did what came naturally, played their instruments, jammed together and explored mutu