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Release date August 1: John McLaughlin (Guitar, Guitar Synth), Zakir Hussain (Tabla, Chanda, Madal, Konokol), Shankar Mahadevan (Vocals & Konokol), Ganesh Rajagopalan (Violin, Konokol), Selvaganesh Vinayakram (Kanjira, Mridangam, Ghatam, Konokol)... 2025 Release. Recorded live throughout their globe-spanning 50th anniversary tour in 2023, Mind Explosion is the final album from vanguard world fusion ensemble Shakti. To be released on Abstract Logix, it contains a selection of performances carefully curated from countless hours of concert recordings by co-founding guitarist John McLaughlin and Shakti master percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram. Mind Explosion is a rapturous celebration of the life, music, and humanity of Zakir Hussain - not just McLaughlin's original partner in Shakti, but a brother and inspiration to every past and present member of Shakti - who passed away in December 2024. "I am eternally grateful to Zakir," McLaughlin reflects, "because he was there before the beginning of Shakti to the very end." Mind Explosion features the Shakti of the past two decades - Hussain, McLaughlin, Vinayakram, and Shankar Mahadevan (vocals) - plus Ganesh Rajagopalan (violin), who came aboard several years ago, on a program of material ranging from Shakti's 1976 debut album to extended versions of two compositions from their GRAMMY™ award-winning 2023 album This Moment. Throughout, the revolutionary ensemble's virtuosity, deeply felt kinship, and entirely unique hybrid of eastern and western traditions is on full, glorious display. "What else can epitomize the history of Shakti if not the final live recording?" McLaughlin asks. "Now that it is completed, I find it to be absolutely superb: Heartfelt, deliriously joyful, and masterly all at the same time. It is our greatest achievement."

Release date July 25: Beingness brings together three masters of creative music: award-winning percussionist Adam Rudolph, soprano sax player and NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman, and drummer and NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart.Available May 23, 2025 via Rudolph's Meta Records, the live album, recorded in the spring of 2023 at New York City's iconic creative music venue The Stone, marks the fourth in a series of trio recordings released by Liebman and Rudolph. The trio's genesis evolved naturally. Hart and Liebman, who met performing on Miles Davis' historic 1972 recording On the Corner, have played together for over 30 years in configurations including their Quest quartet. Liebman and Rudolph began playing as a duo in 2016, developing a trio with rotating drum chairs. "When we found out Tyshawn (Sorey) was unavailable for The Stone concert, Dave suggested we ask Billy Hart, " remembers Rudolph. "I enthusiastically agreed. I've admired Billy's playing since I first heard him with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Sextet at the Smiling Dog in Cleveland. I loved his playing then and I love it now." Working with Liebman and Hart was a dream come true for Rudolph. "Both Billy and Dave inspired me so much when I was a teenager first getting into playing music, " he said. "It was a real honor to create the spontaneous compositions on Beingness with these two masters." Together, Hart, Liebman and Rudolph bring decades of performance experience in the full range of contemporary jazz and creative improvised music. Their embodied experience of playing these forms allows them to spontaneously generate new forms though melodic and rhythmic dialogues. These factors, along with the unique combination of instruments Liebman's wood flutes and Rudolph's array of percussion bring to the trio, make Beingness a completely original and soulful addition to the evolution of creative music. Liebman, Hart and Rudolph channel their unique and evolved rhythm and sonic languages through inspired, spirited musical dialogue. The result is music that exists on it's own terms, reflecting the wonderful alchemy of the artists as they spontaneously create dialogues, orchestrations, and sonic moods. "The three of us were committed to open our ears and hearts, " says Liebman. "The results were magical."Hart concurs: "You have to come to a creative situation like this with open ears, an open heart, and freeflowing imagination. The preparation is also years of practice, composing and performance so that we can be free to play anything we can imagine to play." For the live performance, Rudolph employed his "organic" orchestrations and electronic processing. He recalls, "Dave was so inspired by the electronic processing I did during the concert that he asked me to do more of it post production." Rudolph spent hours diving deep into the music to subtly expand the orchestral palate and create a shadow world of harmonic colors. While maintaining awareness of the precedent of post-production processes in classic recordings like BitchesBrew and Weather Report, Rudolph incorporated additional ideas from his world music experience: "My primary inspiration for the electronic orchestrations is the ancient African practice of complexifying the sound of instruments, for example by attaching rattles or putting gut strings on skins, so that when they're played, a parallel 'shadow line" of sound is heard. These rhythm overtones are sometimes called 'the voice of the ancestors' and add a transcendent quality to the music." As Rudolph reflects in the liner notes "Beingness is the source of inspiration which moves silence towards it's manifestation as form in sound. Each gesture animates in the infinite space between thought and non-thought awareness. The fluidity of spontaneous sonic projections reflect the essential being of nature, which is change."

Release date August 15: Acclaimed guitarist Craig Brann joins forces with tenor saxophone virtuoso Greg Tardy for an electrifying new release on SteepleChase. This album showcases Brann's signature melodic storytelling and Tardy's expressive phrasing, creating a dynamic interplay between guitar and saxophone that is both adventurous and deeply rooted in jazz tradition."As a guitarist, Brann continually reshapes his sound... When a musician has the capacity to do just about anything, the choices he makes are critical. Here, Brann and his quintet never put a foot wrong." (Mark Corroto - All About Jazz on SCCD 31847 Lineage)

saw this music expanded upon live at the Vision Festival and it was truly mind-altering.

Changu Records is a record label owned and operated by jazz saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. It is known for releasing his own music, as well as other jazz artists. Specifically, Changu Records released Jaleel Shaw's albums "Optimism" and "The Soundtrack of Things to Come".    Here's a more detailed look at Changu Records:    Founded by: Jaleel Shaw. Focus: Primarily jazz music, with a focus on Jaleel Shaw's own releases and those of other jazz musicians. Notable Releases: "Optimism" and "The Soundtrack of Things to Come" by Jaleel Shaw. Associated Artists: While primarily known for Jaleel Shaw's work, Changu Records also features other jazz musicians.