We're looking at the best jazz releases of January 2026! Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

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00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Why Don't You - Sam Fribush, Corey Fonville, Charlie Hunter
03:09 - Talking Drum - Julian Lage
04:58 - Flim - Winderman, Colman, Kimock
06:53 - Nacho Supreme - Motion II
08:51 - Wisdom Is Eternal (For Barry Harris)
10:49 - Unpersuadable Extern - N∆BOU
12:11 - Free Walk - Vladko
14:17 - Fireball - John Ellis & Double Wide
15:52 - Giant Steps - Billy Hart
18:50 - Parks Lope - Aaron Parks

We're looking back at the best jazz releases of 2025. Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

This is a new segment from the team behind You'll Hear It, and we're looking to continue this music discovery pod as a weekly series in 2026. Help us shape this series and leave us a comment with your feedback.

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00:00 - The Best New Jazz of 2025
00:55 - "Spiral Dance" - Branford Marsalis Quartet
02:30 - "Minor Blues Redux" - Kenny Barron
4:54 - "Icarus" - Joshua Redman
6:55 - "Thou Swell" - Gillian Margot, Geoffrey Keezer
9:30 - "Southern Nights" - Sullivan Fortner
12:30 - "Anything but now" - Cécile McLorin Salvant
16:30 - "Everything Means Nothing to Me" - Brad Mehldau
22:00 - "Over (feat. Yebba)" - Robert Glasper
24:40 - "Carved From" - Mary Halvorson
26:45 - "Old Folks" - Christian McBride
29:00 - "Windows" - Chick Corea, Christian McBride, Brian Blade
33:00 - "Mood Indigo" - Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Charlap

What does it really mean to live a musical life?

As we look ahead to 2026, Adam and Peter talk about music as a way of being. Not a checklist, or a finish line, or something reserved for “professionals.” They share why they believe everyone is a musician, and why taste and curiosity matter more than optimization.

Whether you're a musician, or a lover of music, anyone can lead a musical life.

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - How to Live a Musical Life in 2026
07:00 - There is No Finish Line
08:45 - All Humans Are Musicians
19:10 - Find Your Own Taste
28:00 - How We Choose Topics for You'll Hear It

Prince's Sign O' the Times is one of our most requested albums at You'll Hear It. But, there is a certain window of millennial that doesn't really "get" Prince. If that’s you, this episode is your on ramp into his music.

We start with Prince's earliest albums, tracing his incredible run from 1978 through to 1986. By the time we hit 1987 (around the time our dear mid-millennials were born), you can hear exactly why Sign O’ the Times has become so beloved by critics and music-lovers alike.

If you’re already a Prince fan (like us!), get comfy. Put on your purple rain coat. We talk through the influences we hear all over this music: James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Earth, Wind & Fire. We share our apex moments from Sign O’ the Times. And yes… we’ve got a few quibble bits too.

We'll be taking a short break in January, and returning with more great episodes in February 2026. We'll be dropping a few special episodes in the meantime, so keep an eye on the feed.

00:00 - Intro Jam: "U Got the Look"
02:10 - Welcome + New at Open Studio
03:50 - Coming Up Next Season
05:10 - How We Make Decisions for the Show
08:35 - Why "Sign O' the Times"?
11:35 - "Soft and Wet" from For You (1978)
14:50 - "I Wanna Be Your Lover" from Prince (1979)
17:50 - "Head" from Dirty Mind (1980)
19:15 - "Controversy" from Controversy (1981)
22:35 - "1999" from 1999 (1982)
25:15 - "Purple Rain" from Purple Rain (1984)
28:40 - "Raspberry Beret" from Around the World in a Day (1985)
29:45 - "Kiss" from Parade (1986)
40:20 - "Sign O' the Times"
45:40 - "Housequake"
47:20 - "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker"
51:50 - "Starfish and Coffee"
53:05 - "Slow Love"
55:20 - "Hot Thing"
57:10 - "U Got the Look"
59:25 - Miles on Prince
1:02:25 - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
1:04:00 - "Strange Relationship"
1:05:20 - "The Cross"
1:08:00 - "Adore"
1:09:50 - Apex Moments
1:14:55 - Categories
1:19:35 - Snobometer
1:23:55 - Coming Up on YHI
1:24:20 - Outro Jam: "U Got the Look"

Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi

Could this be peak Frank? Sinatra at the Sands captures the energy, the cool, and the incredible voice that made this crooner so iconic. Backed by the Count Basie Orchestra with arrangements by a young Quincy Jones, this live album still swings 60 years later!

Sinatra at the Sands was recorded at a moment when Sinatra was emerging from a slump. Rock and roll dominated the airwaves, the Beatles were redefining popular music and crooning just wasn't cool anymore. But this album, recorded live in Vegas, shows a 50-year-old Frank sounding loose, confident, and completely at home in front of a band that swings like nothing else.

Listen with us as we break down and react to the best of this swingin' album.

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00:00 - Intro Jam: Fly Me To the Moon
01:35 - The Sinatra-Basie Episode!
03:45 - Is This Peak Frank?
05:45 - The Mid-60s Culture Shift
07:45 - "Come Fly With Me"
12:00 - The Quincy Influence
14:45 - "I've Got You Under My Skin"
17:30 - What To Listen For
22:30 - "The Shadow of Your Smile"
26:20 - Freddie Green's "Chunking" Technique
28:15 - Sinatra's Vocal Gift
33:30 - "Street of Dreams"
35:50 - "One For My Baby (And One More for the Road)"
38:40 - "Fly Me To the Moon"
45:00 - "One O'Clock Jump"
49:50 - Desert Island Tracks
54:05 - Apex Moments
59:05 - Categories
1:03:20 - Coming Up Next Week

Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi

How much do you know about Peter Martin? In this conversation with Kirk Hamilton of the Strong Songs podcast, Peter shares his musical influences and trajectory as a young jazz pianist. He brings us right back to the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with stories of meeting Wynton Marsalis, and playing with jazz legends like Betty Carter, Roy Hargrove and Joshua Redman.

Plus, he shares his take on jazz education, the marathon runner's mindset and why anyone and everyone can play music.

Check out the Strong Songs podcast: https://strongsongspodcast.com/

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Introducing Today's Episode
02:50 - Peter's Strong Songs Interview
06:00 - Peter's Musical Background
08:00 - The Suzuki Method
14:30 - Nurturing Talent
16:30 - How Peter Discovered Jazz
20:30 - Meeting Wynton Marsalis
27:00 - The Midwestern Jazz Scene
33:20 - Juilliard, Roy Hargrove and the Young Lions
35:40 - Moving to New Orleans
38:30 - The Economics of Jazz in the 90s
40:00 - Playing with the Legendary Betty Carter
44:30 - Jazz Musicianship Then and Now
47:15 - Roy Hargrove and the Summer of '94
52:15 - Joining Joshua Redman
57:45 - Rethinking Jazz Education
1:02:15 - The Marathon Runner's Mindset
1:07:20 - Kenny Kirkland: Awe & Inspiration
1:15:00 - Roy Hargrove, The RH Factor and Hard Groove
1:20:00 - My Funny Valentine - Miles Davis
1:25:00 - How to Find the Recommendations in this Episode

Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was one of the BIGGEST records of the 90s. When you sell 20 million records, like Lauryn Hill did, you're into mass market territory; you're selling records all over the world and reaching across genres. With Miseducation, Lauryn Hill struck a nerve with humanity. How did she do it?

As you'll hear in this episode, the album sounded unlike other chart-topping hits at the time. It features tons of acoustic instruments, beautiful chord progressions, Stevie Wonder vibes, palatable melodies, a D'Angelo cameo and deeply personal storytelling. And Lauryn Hill herself has the presence of an actor with the soul of an underground musician.

Listen with us as we parse through Lauryn Hill's only album track-by-track to answer the question: What makes this album great?

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00:00 - Intro Jam: "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
02:05 - A Concept Album About Love
04:55 – The Fugees, Sister Act II & Stardom
07:40 - "Intro" + "Lost Ones"
10:50 - “Ex-Factor”
13:15 - "To Zion (Feat. Carlos Santana)"
20:05 - "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
21:45 - "Superstar"
23:30 - “When It Hurts So Bad”
25:50 - "I Used to Love Him (feat. Mary J. Blige)"
33:00 - Hitting a Nerve with Humanity
37:20 - "Every Ghetto, Every City"
40:20 - "Nothing Even Matters"
42:50 - "Everything Is Everything"
45:10 - "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"
47:30 - "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - (I Love You Baby)"
52:35 - Desert Island Tracks + Apex Moments
1:01:50 - Up Next

Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi