Jeff Beck

Emotion & Commotion

ATCO Records

Claudio Roditi

Simpatico

Resonance Records

Matt Wilson Quartet

That's Gonna Leave a Mark

Palmetto Records

Steve Kuhn Trio w/ Joe Lovano

Mostly Coltrane

ECM Records

The Stryker/Slagle Band

Keeper

JEFF BECK

Emotion & Commotion

ATCO Records

What the listener immediately notices about the new Jeff Beck CD is its “lyrical” beauty, the guitarist’s ability to “vocalize” with his instrument. Every solo sounds like an aria for guitar—a “guitaria.” His 2008 recording “Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott’s” made it clear that Beck had lost nothing in the way of technique or emotional wallop, and his first studio recording in seven years reaffirms that fact while adding to his stature as the greatest rock guitarist of all time.

CLAUDIO RODITI

Simpatico

Resonance Records

Brazilian trumpet virtuoso Claudio Roditi has followed up his 2009 Resonance Records debut with “Simpatico,” another sterling example of Roditi’s bop-oriented Latin jazz. Whether on trumpet, flugelhorn or piccolo trumpet, his playing always maintains a high level of excitement and his recordings are never less than dazzling. In this case, “Simpatico” refers to Roditi’s close association with the material and his compatibility with the other players.

DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER

Eleanora Fagan: To Billie with Love

DDB Records

At age 60, Dee Dee Bridgewater is the greatest living jazz singer at the pinnacle of her career, but she has not forgotten the jazz lineage from which she sprang or the jazz artists who inspired her. A sprightly personality with a more virtuosic voice than Holiday possessed, Bridgewater does not attempt to mimic the great “Lady Day,” but there is no doubting her respect for Holiday’s tragic genius and her unmatched ability to put a song across with emotion.

STEVE KUHN TRIO with JOE LOVANO

Mostly Coltrane

ECM Records

Pianist Steve Kuhn gets short shrift in most jazz commentaries, where he’s usually identified as the guy who preceded McCoy Tyner in John Coltrane’s classic quartet. But the 72-year-old Kuhn has also produced a string of wonderful recordings under his own name over the years. The most recent evidence of his staying power is “Mostly Coltrane,” a tribute to his former employer featuring the sympathetic, Trane-like tenor of Joe Lovano.

THE STRYKER/SLAGLE BAND

Keeper

Panorama Records

The latest release from longtime friends and collaborators Dave Stryker and Steve Slagle is another adventurous exploration of the deep groove, common ground where the guitarist and saxophonist are again joined by bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Victor Lewis to create a magical group sound. Stryker’s edgy guitar lines blend seamlessly with Slagle’s sax, as the rhythm section churns beneath. This high degree of compatibility is a tribute to the four-way communication on display throughout “Keeper.”