If a new George Freeman album is always a blessing, then what is a new George Freeman album featuring two world class backing bands? That’s the riddle we’ll need to solve as we spend more time with his newest CD, The Good Life. George is joined on the first half of the album by Joey DeFrancesco and Lewis Nash and on the second half of the disc, by Christian McBride and Carl Allen. These songs, five by George, and two standards (“If I Had You” and “The Good Life”) are all beautifully played, with George’s brilliant tone and musical ideas front and center on “Mr. D” (George’s tribute to Joey DeFrancesco). “1,2,3,4” has a Chicago to New Orleans groove happening that is slick and fun, and that tone with Christian McBride’s big bass notes? That’s a good time, indeed.

On More Music, master organist Joey DeFrancesco, who has long supplemented his keyboard virtuoso with his skilled trumpet playing, here brings out his full arsenal: organ, keyboard, piano, trumpet and, for the first time on record, tenor saxophone. More Music offers up ten new DeFrancesco originals, brought to life by a scintillating new trio with fellow Philadelphia organist and guitarist Lucas Brown and gifted drummer Michael Ode.

Is this still young but nearly legendary hipster, who almost singlehandedly rekindled jazz's interest in the Hammond B-3 organ, going to the dogs? The folks at Concord Records hope so, sending out a doggie biscuit with their press materials as DeFrancesco gives one of his favorite East Coast jazz singers, Joe Doggs, a prominent spotlight. Doggs' soulful vocals (praised in the liner notes by Quincy Jones and very reminiscent of the passionate Jimmy Scott experience) and fresh, expansive arrangements are at the cool, swinging heart of the collection's 11 cherished standards. Between vocal passages, the organ great also continues his long tradition of working with top trad jazz names like Pat Martino, tenorman Red Holloway, drummer Jeff Hamilton (complementing DeFrancesco's core trio member Byron Landham), and Kevin Eubanks…