Welcome to Palette. Each work on this album invites you to a unique sonic universe. Together, the pieces represent a new era in my repertoire and practice. In several of these works, I have actively participated in the compositional process as a co composer, contributing with my creativity and knowledge. The pieces are constructed in partnership with a number of open and creative composers, and in several cases, years of collaborative work prepared the ground for their blooming colors. They result from intertwined contributions, generating works that none of us could have imagined alone.

The extensive body of work by Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), which is often limited to his monumental nine symphonies (eleven if the two scores prior to the First are included), is characterised by the expression of his deep Catholic faith. Bruckner received his training as a young singer at the age of thirteen at the Abbey of Saint Florian, located a few kilometres from Linz in Austria. His faith is exalted in both his religious and orchestral works, as evidenced by his dedication of his Ninth Symphony to 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam'. It is not surprising that almost half of Anton Bruckner's catalogue, which consists of around 150 opuses in the Werke Anton Bruckner (WAB), are choral scores.

For Georgian pianist Shorena Tsintsabadze, there is no more beautiful place in the world than her homeland.

Bringing together Brahms's three Sonatas for violin and piano is both an obvious choice and a challenge. Obvious because, as all three come from the composer's mature works, they share a similarity of inspiration – nature, the voice – and aesthetics; a challenge because each, however, has its own character and expression, the first melancholy, the last dramatic and the second lyrical and exalted. By placing them side by side, Sergey Ostrovsky and Natalia Morozova dive into Brahmsian interiority, all the facets of which the musicians capture with infinite delicacy.

Pianist and composer Sebastian Sternal (*1983) is a musical jack-of-all-trades with many creative faces. Sternal not only plays piano in this project, but also wrote all nine compositions and conducted the band during the recording. As his trademark, the music here also combines influences from classical music and jazz and impresses with dazzling tonal colours, catchy melodies and energetic grooves. The outstanding soloists of the hr-Bigband shine with contrasting improvisation and interactions.

Perennial DownBeat Critics Poll winner, trombonist Michael Dease has embraced his role as a torchbearer for his mentors and the great jazz ancestors over his 15 deeply-swinging, state-of-the-art mainstream recordings. For The Other Shoe, Dease teams with the formidable composer Gregg Hill, expanding his rhythmic & harmonic palette with a flexible, in-the-moment perspective while remaining true to the sensibilities at his musical core. With the prodigiously talented pianist Geoffrey Keezer as a central foil, Dease brings along a wide-ranging collection of musicians, each specifically brought in for their unique outlooks and talents, including clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, Liany Mateo on bass, and drummer Colleen Clark, among others.

If there is one place where Kaz Hawkins' talent is perfectly expressed, it is the stage. This album recorded at the Summer Camp Festival in Brezoi, Romania is irrefutable proof. Having become one of the most important blues festivals in Europe, Brezoi has long crowned Kaz Hawkins as one of its queens, with the Northern Irishwoman being one of the headliners of the event each year. This public recording of 12 tracks is a new stone in Kaz Hawkins' musical edifice which is growing day by day to now approach the summits of the genre. A pure treat.

Ancient traditions, folklore, landscapes, and the natural world are central themes in the music of the distinguished Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye.

As a composer and bandleader, trumpeter David Weiss is dedicated to the proposition that there are still new stories to be told from within the bebop tradition. The several collaborative bands he's spearheaded over the last three decades—including the superband, The Cookers—are towering examples, but none more personal to his voice than this ongoing Sextet. With longtime collaborators saxophonist Myron Walden and drummer EJ Strickland, and newer musical partners such as tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover and pianist David Bryant, Weiss creates expansive harmonic and rhythmic frameworks for the group to explore and summit. Intriguing melodies and virtuosic solos highlight this set of five originals, along with compositions from Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton.

Harpist Constance Luzzati’s new album Jupiter offers a fresh perspective on favourite pieces of the 18th century originally composed for the harpsichord and viola da gamba.