Something a little different, but as good as anything I've heard in a long, long time
Just picked up the latest disc from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and it is absolutely fantastic. It's called Funeral for a Friend and it is a playing of an entire New Orleans funeral cycle, dedicated to their founding tuba player who died just weeks after the recording was finished. All spirituals, played with a jazzy, funky New Orleans style that makes you move, think, pray, laugh and cry.
If you have any intrerest in this sort of thing, this disc is a must have. A great band, at the top of their game, playing an incredible selection ranging from I Shall Not Be Moved to Down by the Riverside, Amazing Grace and more. The perfect program played by a band that fits the material like a glove. Anybody who thinks there is no classic jazz coming out today just plain hasn't heard this disc.
A little off the beaten path compared to much of what I tend to listen to and what gets discussed around here, but I think lots of people would have to be moved by this one.