Not one, but two jazz albums that feature the return of long-absent titans have become instant favorites of mine in the past month. So never mind waiting until my usual end-of-year article; I had to share the news now! Listening links are embedded after each review; if you’re interested, purchase links are included in the artist/title listings.

Branford Marsalis Quartet and Dianne Reeves, Dedicated to You: Marsalis and his fellow masters team up with preeminent vocalist Reeves (on her first recording in 12 years), joining John Coltrane’s centenary celebration by reworking his 1963 duet album with Johnny Hartmann. Just listen to the playful opening track “Autumn Serenade”, the enticing “You Are Too Beautiful”, the stark, rhapsodic take on Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” – each tune showcases winning chops and character from Reeves, Marsalis, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Reyes and drummer Justin Faulkner, all in service to gorgeously written songs and guided by a sublime sense of swing. There isn’t a duff take here: with her superb tone and keen interpretive skills, Reeves conjures up one quiet storm after another. And when Branford and his brotherhood go it alone on selections from Coltrane’s Ballads album and his broader catalog, listening hard to each other, the results are equally rambunctious and tender. It’s all warm, rich, glorious, never slavishly imitating Trane, but thoroughly in touch with his unprecedented technical depth and profound musical imagination. I’m glad I already grabbed tickets for this deft collaboration’s Grand Rapids concert next spring before it sold out!

Pete Roth Trio, Group Chat: the legendary Bill Bruford (who made his bones in multiple incarnations of Yes and King Crimson, then circled back to his first musical love in his bands Bruford and Earthworks) has returned to jazz drumming after an extended academic sabbatical, manning the engine room for this new trio on their debut CD/DVD set. German/British guitarist Pete Roth fronts a team of equals, with veteran bassist Mike Pratt completing the lineup as recorded live. Opener “Full Circle” sets the tone — a sophisticated, driving mix of jazz and rock that fizzes, fuses, bops and glides, as all three players swap musical roles at will. Then the Brubeckian blues “Part of the Charm” shows off both devastatingly tight interplay and what each player can do in the spotlight, as Bruford matches then pushes his younger comrades with a solo whirlwind of savory, simmering invention. Along with more gnarly yet nice originals, a funky version of Gershwin’s “Summertime” and an invitingly abstract “Improvisation on the Largo from Dvorak’s Symphony #9” lay out the group’s range and ambition, stretching toward and often rivaling the vibe of classic trios led by Bill Evans, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. With about two-thirds of the album also duplicated on the bonus DVD, this album is unmissable for Bruford fans, and a fresh blast of unmistakable, enthralling cool in its own right.

— Rick Krueger