Jazz Icons Are Still 'Among Us'

Our friends at AllAboutJazz.com keep you hip to what's happening in the world of jazz and improvised music with featured interviews, free downloads and spotlights on important releases. Expand your musical horizons with weekly dispatches courtesy of AAJ.

Jazz has a rich legacy dating back to the turn of the 20th century, but the music is constantly evolving as artists and cultures combine to shape its direction. Most tend to place jazz in its golden era of the '40s and '50s, but the music of today is as vibrant and vital as ever.

This week we focus on 'Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense,' a four-part documentary that articulates the spirit of jazz and how the music is moving forward with several creative forces at the helm. Drummer/singer/songwriter Brian Blade (Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan), sultry vocalist Melody Gardot, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane (father is John, mother is Alice), and Australian keyboardist Barney McAll are but a few artists carrying the torch for a new brand of jazz.

Download a free MP3 from Brian Blade's latest release, 'Mama Rosa,' and a free MP3 from Barney McAll's most recent album, 'Flashbacks,' to check out two shining examples of the jazz world's up-and-coming icons.