Eddie Higgins, Standards by Request, 1st Day and 2nd Day(Venus). Among those mourning Higgins’ death are virtually all other jazz pianists and the Japanese. He was a celebrity among the large and enthusiastic coterie of listeners in Japan who are devoted to piano jazz. Higgins recorded nearly two dozen albums for Japan’s Venus label. These solo CDs from 2008 present him in all of his sleek melodicism, harmonic resourcefulness, subtle swing and quiet wit. Most of these interpretations of standards last around four minutes. That’s all he needed to find the heart of a song.

Barney McAll, Flashbacks (Extra Celestial Arts). Since he arrived in New York from Australia more than a decade ago, McAll has been a pianist in bands and a composer for motion pictures. He has been nominated for a Grammy for his film work and played with Gary Bartz, Billy Harper and Kurt Rosenwinkel, among other jazz adventurers. His best composing in this engrossing CD incorporates influences from a profusion of sources. It has the drama and variety of a good film score. McAll, guitarist Rosenwinkel and tenor saxophonist Jay Rodriguez stand out among the soloists.

Bill Mays, Solo! (Mays). The pianist performs compositions by some of his forerunners, among them Monk, Rowles, Evans, Shearing, Hancock and Sonny Clark. There are no studio or production gimmicks here. It’s just Mays, a Steinway, an attentive audience, good sound and lighting, smooth camera work and alert direction. From the opening “Cool Struttin'” by Clark to “Monk’s Mood” at the end, Mays does more than pay tribute. He upholds quality and tradition while confirming his place in a distinguished succession of pianists.

Hank O’Neal, Ghosts of Harlem (Vanderbilt). At last, those who read only English can do more than look at the pictures in this magnificent volume first published in French twelve years ago. O’Neal’s subjects are key jazz figures including Cab Calloway, Benny Carter, Maxine Sullivan, Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry. He also covers more than a score of less famous important musicians like Tommy Benford, Doc Cheatham and Lawrence Lucie. As skilled an interviewer as he is a photographer, O’Neal provides knowledge, insights and entertainment. Anyone interested in Harlem’s role in the development of jazz will luxuriate in this invaluable book.

Bill Evans, Turn Out The Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings (Nonesuch). This six-CD box set has kicked up a fuss lately on several blogs and web sites. The great pianist was dying when he recorded it. That knowledge informs the way critics hear the music he made with his trio at the Vanguard in June, 1980. Their arguments about artistic ascent or decline are fascinating. But the music is what matters, and the music is magnificent. This would be an essential item even if the price were not about half that of the original edition.

Christian McBride & Inside Straight, Kind of Brown (MackAvenue). The bassist sets aside his fascination with rock, hip-hop and electronica to cruise the mainstream. He uses only his acoustic bass. The music is latterday bebop, with a few modal tinges. Alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, always impressive, is at a peak here. His unison lines with young vibraphonist Warren Wolf are an attractive element. Eric Reed and Carl Allen are on piano and drums. After nine tracks of hard swinging, McBride picks up his bow to beautifully intone the melody of Jimmy McHugh’s “Where Are You?”

Kristin Korb, In The Meantime (KK). In the nature of things, attention will go to Korb’s vocals and her glamorous makeover illustrated in the cover shots. Serious listeners will also be drawn to her bass playing. She accompanies herself as she sings with pianist Llew Matthews, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, guitarist Larry Koonse, drummer Steve Barnes and vibist Nick Mancini. She solos impressively on “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” adapts James Brown’s “I Feel Good” to introduce Bob Dorough’s “Better Than Anything,” finds joy in “I Got It Bad” and introduces her intriguing ballad “If I Am Ever Yours.”

Philip Dizack Quintet Live In Barcelona Featuring Greg Tardy (Fresh Sound). Dizack, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was 20 when he played a club during the 2005 Barcelona Jazz Festival. Fresh Sound Records was on hand with a camera crew to capture a trumpeter with a huge sound, audacity and polished technique tempered by taste and imagination. Pianist Miro Sprague, bassist Pere Loewe and drummer Obed Calvaire appear to be only slightly older than Dizak. Tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy, 39 at the time, is the grizzled veteran of the group. Superb sound, camera work and direction put the viewer virtually on stage for an exhilarating performance by a tightly integrated band.

Graham Collier, The Jazz Composer: Moving Music Off The Paper (Northway). The title reads like that of a textbook, but this evaluation of the art is accessible to any layman with ears. Contradicting conventional wisdom about some composers, Collier nudges Thad Jones from his pedestal, for instance, and shrugs off Bill Holman with minor praise. He puts in perspective Ellington’s habit of borrowing and praises Gil Evans nearly without reservation. Whether or not you agree with Collier, he backs his positions with evidence and references and makes readers think hard about what they listen to. This is an important book.

Grant Stewart Plays The Music of Duke Ellington And Billy Strayhorn (Sharp Nine). If you like the way Sonny Rollins played the tenor saxophone in 1955, you’ll like the way Grant Stewart plays it now. Stewart masters the harmony, phrasing and tone that Rollins applied in Work Time and other albums of his classic Prestige period. The similarity is stunning on “Raincheck” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” but the younger man is not a clone. On ballads including “The Star Crossed Lovers,” Stewart creates new melodies with thoughtfulness and conviction. His rhythmic urgency is compelling even at slow tempos.

Joe Lovano Us Five, Folk Art (Blue Note). As noted in the Rifftides coverage of the Portland Jazz Festival, the saxophonist’s Us Five band is a playground of reaction and interaction among diverse but finely attuned musicians. The ages of the other band members, who include two drummers, no doubt average half of Lovano’s. If they provide him inspiration and rhythmic fire, it works both ways. In spirit, the music is based in the post-Coltrane ethos of three decades ago. Lovano’s energy, imagination and outsized personality make it distinctive. He dominates, but pianist James Weidman commands attention.

Daryl Sherman, Johnny Mercer: A Centennial Tribute (Arbors). So, you think you know all of Johnny Mercer? If you can recite the words to “The Bathtub Ran Over Again” and “Here Come the British,” you probably do. Ms. Sherman also sings Mercer’s lyrics to better-known songs, “Midnight Sun” and “Come Rain or Come Shine” among them. She accompanies herself and plays piano solos, with assistance from Jerry Dodgion, Wycliffe Gordon, Howard Alden, Jay Leonhart and Chuck Redd. Marian McPartland and Barbara Carroll make guest appearances in a collection of 14 Mercer songs splendidly performed.

Fred Hersch, Let Yourself Go (Aha!). This skillful documentary delves into what makes Hersch one of the most distinctive pianists of his generation. It includes generous sequences of his playing and his articulate reflections on music. Among other admirers, his teacher, Sophia Rosoff, discusses the “basic emotional rhythm” that sets Hersch apart. The film also explores Hersch’s significance as one of the first major jazz artists to go public about his homosexuality and his infection with the HIV virus. For a six-minute trailer, go here.

Miller Williams, Time and the Tilting Earth (Louisiana). I have been a committed Williams fan since I first encountered his poetry in the 1960s. This little volume of new poems from late in his career is essence of Williams, a concentration of his brevity, warmth, wisdom, humor and absolute command of his craft. Williams’ sense of wonder extends from the inner being to the cosmos. Much of his work suggests that they may be the same thing.

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam). Can generations nurtured on rock and roll learn to love music by a band configured like one out of the swing era? The answer delivered in this work of imagination, daring and resourcefulness is yes. Argue’s textures, harmonies and uses of space and time place him alongside Maria Schneider, Ed Partyka and John Hollenbeck among intriguing young composer-leaders of the new century. His music incorporates funk, spunk and the brashness of punk into crafty uses of inheritances from Gil Evans, Bill Holman and Bob Brookmeyer. His band of young New Yorkers plays beautifully.

Bob Brookmeyer, Music for String Quartet and Orchestra (Challenge). Brookmeyer long since worked himself out of the compulsion to write edgy electronic music and acoustic music that sounds electronic. This gorgeous four-part work finds him in the tonal center of his composer’s art. He conducts the formidable Metropole Orchestra and the Gustav Klimt String Quartet in a suite that melds the rhythmic sensibility of Brookmeyer’s jazz mastery with his uncommon depth of orchestral understanding. Its range runs from gravity to pure fun. It is not jazz. It is not classical. It is Brookmeyer.

Bobby Sanabria, Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Kenya Revisited Live! (Jazzheads). Percussionist, leader and Latin music maven Sanabria puts the MSM band through the exhilirating paces of influential music recorded by Machito in 1957. Machito’s Kenya is regarded as one of the milestones of Afro-Cuban music. Sanabria and company do it justice in this tribute concert before an enthusiastic audience. Candido Camero, who was on the 1957 album, is a guest on congas. On “Oyeme,” alto saxophonist Vince Neto does a nice job in the slot originally filled by Cannonball Adderley.”

Lenny Breau & Brad Terry Live at the Maine Festival (Art of Life). The genius guitarist and one of Breau’s favorite duet partners, clarinetist and whistler Terry, are on camera for “Emily” and “Autumn Leaves” in a 1980 concert. They are heard but not seen for “Limehouse Blues” and “Make Someone Happy.” The video quality is subaqueous, but clear enough for you to detect their enjoyment. The sound is okay in the video, excellent in the audio-only portions. The playing is inspired throughout. Bonus features include an interview with Terry and a complete Breau discography.

Ron Forbes-Roberts, One Long Tune: The Life And Music Of Lenny Breau (North Texas). Many guitarists consider Breau the world’s greatest player of the instrument. In his short life, he left plenty of recorded confirmation that the claim might be true. Forbes-Roberts, himself a guitarist, traces Breau from his beginning as a child phenomenon to a senseless death in his early forties. He does a first-rate job of melding musical substance with Breau’s astonishing story.