Diego Rivera is a world-class tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator. He teaches in and serves as Associate Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. He is also director of the award-winning ensemble MSU Jazz Octet 1. Rivera possesses a direct, robust tone that recalls the emotive "tough tenor" era of Johnny Griffin and Gene "Jug" Ammons; one can also hear the tonal influences of Ben Webster and the modal approach of John Coltrane in his soprano playing.

With the "Something Blue" series of releases, my goal is to present a series of focused and concise performances to create maximum enjoyment. For this 2023 release, I specifically focused on assembling a group of talented composers. I selected some familiar collaborators; bassist Boris Kozlov, alto saxophonist Markus Howell and drummer Donald Edwards. I also chose some “new” faces as well; tenor saxophonist Willie Morris, trombonist Altin Sencalar, and pianist Misha Tsiganov. I hope this program of new compositions will encourage a wider audience of listeners to increase their engagement with Jazz, so it becomes their personal preference for musical entertainment. — Marc Free, producer

Michael Dease keeps the music moving forward toward the "Best Next Thing" on his ninth album for Posi-Tone. With clear purpose, Trombonist Michael Dease gathers together an assemblage of exceptional musicians to help him interactively explore the essence of the blues and reframe the abstract truths of jazz as the "Best Next Thing" for today's audience of listeners. Providing support in bringing this vision to fruition, the session features an all-star lineup of musicians including trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Boris Kozlov, and powerhouse drummer Rudy Royston. As a band leader, Dease makes sure the entire session stays insightfully straight forward and refreshingly melodic throughout while he conducts his topnotch crew through a series of his new compositions and some inventive arrangements of selections crafted by Dease's musical mentors. With this latest release, Michael Dease not only confirms his status as a virtuoso soloist and one of the biggest stars in jazz today, but also demonstrates that he is clearly an artist for jazz fans to rely upon to bring them the "Next Best Thing" in jazz for years to come.

The sky is well within reach when trumpet player extraordinaire Alex Sipiagin sets his sights on the summit and heads off upward in an Ascent to the Blues for his second release on Posi-Tone Records. The session features the focused wizardry of Sipiagin’s incisive technique, gripping tonality and hard hitting melodicism are countered cleverly against the curvature of contributions from Diego Rivera on tenor saxophone, the cool complexities of Art Hirahara on piano, the steady underpinnings of Boris Kozlov on bass, and the bombastic metrics of Rudy Royston on drums and percussion. While the album program remains decidedly straight forward and rooted in the blues throughout, the music is also elegantly lyrical and brilliantly evocative of a truly modern jazz sensibility. With a flawless combination of effortless mastery and brilliant performances, Sipiagin's “Ascent to the Blues" reaches steadily upward toward new heights and provides a clear pathway of inspirational bright moments for jazz fans everywhere to joyfully ascend again and again.

Everybody is riding along in style when guitarist Jocelyn Gould unpacks her axe to launch the opening salvo on her aptly entitled debut release Elegant Traveler. Indeed, Gould gracefully pushes her melodic message to the forefront with skillful leadership, while she ably demonstrates a total command of her own instrument along with a delightful depth of talent as a composer and arranger. Also featured in supporting berths on the album are several top frontline musicians, including trombonist Michael Dease, saxophonist Brandon Wright, and trumpeter Anthony Stanco.

Farnell Newton gets up on the good foot and heads off "Rippin' & Runnin'" full speed ahead on his second leader album for Posi-Tone. This action-packed session features the high powered front line of Newton's trumpet, and Brandon Wright s hard-swinging tenor saxophone, alongside the all-star rhythm section of organist Brian Charette and drummer Rudy Royston. With an exciting and evocative program of music, that includes several amazing original songs, an amazing combination of top-notch talents, and a sizzling score of brilliant performances, "Rippin' & Runnin' " is poised and ready to evoke a wide variety of bright moments with jazz fans everywhere.

Listeners will definitely enjoy a wide variety of Solid Moments when our beloved producer Marc Free enlists the able assistance of a few trusted Idle Hands for the next release in a visionary series of demand building records. Highlighted by the handiwork of a carefully curated group of Posi-Tone artists, this engagingly entertaining album features front line performances from guitarist Will Bernard, vibraphonist Behn Gillece, and saxophonist Sam Dillon playing over the solid harmonic foundation of pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Donald Edwards.

Saxophonist Ken Fowser reflects upon the ephemeral aspects of nature to uncover a series of inspirations hidden in the broken fragments of our cultural existence on his latest release Morning Light. Prepare to be intrigued and delighted, as Fowser unveils a captivating program of new compositions featuring the suitably swinging assistance of his working band featuring Tadataka Unno on piano, Vince Dupont on bass, Joe Strasser on drums and Josh Bruneau on trumpet. Fowser continues to demonstrate a strong and well refined vision for his own music as a leader and composer that is both emotionally engaging and entertaining. With a delicate balance of modernity and classic aesthetics, Morning Light is insightfully straight forward, refreshingly melodic and full of bright moments for the ears of jazz fans everywhere.

We really love the music of Theo Hill more and more with each new record – and here, the pianist is working in a quartet with Joel Ross on vibe – a player who makes a perfect partner for his music! Both Hill and Ross have this open sense of sound and timing – often using the spaces between the notes as much as the notes themselves – even when things are moving at a more full-on level, which they do often – thanks to contributions from Rashaan Carter on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums!

Take a moment to tune in to the tasteful playing of guitarist Amanda Monaco on her new effort “Glitter.” Employing a wide palette of styles and sounds, this gifted instrumentalist makes a bold and entertaining artistic statement with her stunning musicianship and her collection of original compositions. Amanda shines brightly as the bandleader and surrounds herself with some of the heaviest cats on the scene, including organist Gary Versace, drummer Matt Wilson, and baritone saxophone sensation Lauren Sevian. While the session is definitely straight ahead and features some hard swinging highlights, at other moments “Glitter” is also elegantly lyrical and brilliantly evocative of a more modern jazz sensibility.

Posi-Tone debuts their latest musical collective under the apt title of Works For Me. This carefully curated presentation by Producer Marc Free focuses on combining the individual talents of several emerging performers into a cohesive camaraderie that succeeds in providing us with a series of enjoyably emotional performances that Reach Within with clarity and sincerity. Works For Me features the talents of guitarist Tony Davis, saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, pianist Caili O Doherty, bassist Adi Meyerson and drummer Joe Strasser working together to create a series of unified musical expressions that take us along with them on an entertaining musical journey.