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Wynton Marsalis receives the French Legion of Honor during a 2009 ceremony in New York.

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Wynton Marsalis receives the French Legion of Honor during a 2009 ceremony in New York.

This is the new ABS feature where, on Tuesdays, I will be recommending things I find interesting as a way of talking about them more in depth. Mostly recorded music to listen to, but probably also other jazz media to consume. There are a lot of these good things being produced in jazz, and we don't discuss enough of them, and this is a jazz blog, so that needs to be fixed. It'll be kind of like an "editor's picks" section. In fact, it will be that. Here's last week's for reference.

This week: Wynton Marsalis' recordings from the Village Vanguard in the early 1990s.*

I'm going to ask this again at the end of all this. But let me start off with the question I most want answered: What are the great Wynton Marsalis albums?

It seems appropriate to ask about now, as Wynton Marsalis turned 50 one week ago.

Honestly, this blog celebrates birthdays so irregularly that it didn't initially occur to me to take note of it. But Wynton and his legacy have been on the brain ever since last Tuesday, when I received in the mail a press copy of Swingin' Into The 21st, a box set that compiles the seven (!) Wynton Marsalis studio albums released in 1999, The Marciac Suite from 2000 and the 2002 orchestra + big band + choral work All Rise.

Also in the box set: Selections From The Village Vanguard Box, a "highlights" compilation culled from the 7-CD Live At The Village Vanguard box set. That box documents the Wynton Marsalis Septet from 1990-1994 at the Vanguard, but also dropped in late 1999.

I have been listening to this Selections compilation, and it is so very good.

Enlarge Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist

Dave Douglas.

Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist

Dave Douglas.

Time for a new ABS feature. On Tuesdays, I, the editor, will be recommending things for you. Mostly recorded music to listen to, but also books to read, and shows to go see, and other things I haven't thought up yet. There are a lot of these good things being produced in jazz, and we don't discuss enough of them, and this is a jazz blog, so that needs to be fixed. It'll be kind of like an "editor's picks" section. In fact, it will be that.

This week: The three new releases by Dave Douglas, and the Greenleaf Cloud Player they can be heard on.

The trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas has released three albums' worth of music in under five months. That's a lot.

How did he do it? A few thoughts: