You don’t judge a book by it’s cover, and you don’t judge a band by its name. Toronto-based Shuffle Demons may sound like a retro-blues band, but in fact the sounds they have captured on their latest album, Are You Really Real? (Alma/Universal ) don’t easily get categorized.

There’s the jazz-funk of “X Marks The Spot,” swinging “Good Mourning,” and more intricate “Ride the Wave” among a set of tunes heavy in high-energy improvisation. The band presents a unique lineup of instrumentation featuring Richard Underhill (alto and baritone sax), Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan (tenor sax), Mike Downes (electric and acoustic bass) and drummer Stich Wynston. The result is an always interesting listen that will hit both your mind and bottom.

Richard and Stich joined me for our conversation, as we followed the band’s history from busking on the streets of Toronto forty years ago, to personnel changes which shifted the band’s core sound, to today’s ensemble. Aided by the Canada Council for the Arts, the band has been able to record and release albums that try – and even succeed – to capture the energy of their live shows.

Musical selections include “Good Mourning" and "Scala Rosa."

I last caught up with pianist Eric Reed almost two years ago, as he marked the release of his fine tribute album Black, Brown and Blue (Smoke Sessions Records). He returns to original music with his full name on the album Out Late (Smoke Sessions Records), buoyed by a killer band featuring trumpeter Nicholas Payton, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth.

This stellar quintet’s members share deep histories with one another as well as with the l+abel’s namesake Manhattan club. So it seemed natural when Reed wanted to record a new batch of tunes in an “old school” style that they would record on an empty Smoke club’s stage. Out Late was recorded live, with only one take for each tune, and the musicians free of headphones or barriers. The result is a highly satisfying collection that rivals anything Reed has previously released.

Anyone who has followed Reed’s remarkable story in recent years will immediately catch the double meaning embedded in the title as well. Two years ago, Reed made the decision to exist openly in his sexuality, a decision that he feels has also led to a newfound openness and freedom in his musical life.

A key member of bands led by Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard, Reed has been sharing his gospel-tinged sound with jazz listeners since he toured with Marsalis at the age of eighteen. He has almost an album a year over the past thirty-five years, including four album-length explorations of the music of Thelonious Monk.

Podcast 994 is my conversation with Eric as he discusses his decision to make this record with no frills or overdubs, his love for his fellow musicians, and his current tour schedule, where he will perform tributes to two of his piano heroes, Oscar Peterson and Hampton Hawes. Musical selections include “Out Late."

There's a bumper crop of new Holiday Jazz out there folks, so i you are looking for last minute enjoyment for Christmas and Hanukkah (and all the rest of the seasonal celebrations) you can listen to Podcast 993, featuring:

Nick Maclean - "Christmas Time is Here" from his single on Browntasauras Records

Christian Sands - "Do You Hear What I Here" from Christmas Stories

George Burt0n - "The Holly and the Ivy" from Yule Log

Rich Wiley - "Silver Bells" from Boptism Christmas

George Gee Swing Orchestra - "Winter Wonderland Mambo" from Winter Wonderland

Band of Other Brothers - "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from This Year at Christmas

Mitchell Shiner Latin Vibes - "Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah" from Latkes Con Salsa

Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O - "8 Little Candles" from Tree Jazz - The Shape of Christmas to Come

Brownman & Cruzao - "Frosty El Cubano" from their single on Brownasauras Records

Gregory Porter - "Christmas Will Really Be Christmas" from Christmas Wishes (Deluxe Edition)

Tower of Power - "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from It's Christmas

Laila Biali - "Drifting Down Ice" from Wintersongs

Donald Vega - "Auld Lang Syne" from All is Merry and Bright