Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés pays homage to jazz legends on his latest release Chucho’s Steps. The title track, which built on a strong Latin percussive rhythm, is a reference to John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” The rollicking “Zawinul’s Mambo” is a nod to Dizzy Gillespie and Zawinul. The Dixieland-flavor on “New Orleans” is a tribute to the Marsalis family. The soulful blues “Julián” pays respect to Cannonball Adderley. The real treat though is the Cuban-jazz “Danzón.” The ballad starts off with Carlos Miyares Hernández’s sentimental saxophone solo, but the tempo kicks up a notch when Mr. Valdés enters with sweeping, fleeting solo. His compelling improvisations show that the 69-year-old man still have great chops and his playing attests that age ain’t nothing but a number.

Simplexpression gets a new winter theme. The background photo belongs to a former colleague at Vassar. I always love that shot and very glad that she gave me the position to use it. Thanks Tamar!

Simplexpression is currently my favorite project. The site not only showcases Dana’s work, but also gives me an opportunity to play around with design. I also changed the logo’s typeface and styled it using CSS. No more image, ma.

Some video to watch on Friday:

A fun Christmas flash mob at the food court. I wonder if they do that in the mall around here.

An eigh-year-old Angelo “Lil Demon” Baligad kicked his adult opponent ass in a b-boy battle. This kid is just unbelievable.

Charles Lloyd Quartet’s tasteful, elegant Mirror kicks off with a lush, tender ballad “I Fall in Love Too Easily.” Charles Lloyd begins with a soulful solo on the saxophone with the subtle supportive of Reuben Rogers’s bass and Jason Moran’s piano. Moran’s solo is compact and filled with angularities. In the follow-up “Go Down Moses,” Eric Harland’s drums provide Mr. Lloyd a pulsating, energizing rhythm to lay down his spiritual sound. Whether covering the Beach Boys’ “Caroline, No.” or revisiting Thelonious Monk standards (“Monk’s Mood” and “Ruby, My Dear”) or playing his own originals ( “Desolation Sound”, “Mirror”, “Tagi” and “Being and Becoming”), Mr. Lloyd sounds rejuvenating with his young stars. Mirror shows the beauty of understatement as well as the power in restraint.

Ao Trang 2011 Calendar is now available on its new web site. The new HTML site is much better than the previous Flash version. Congrats to the AT’s staff.

Hot rice with Cava’s Harissa has been my favorite lunch whenever I don’t feel like packing meat. The spicy, tangy table condiment made of tomatoes and peppers is like the Greek version of Vietnamese fermented tofu. Thanks to Dana for introducing to me such a killer dip.

Nicki Minaj’s debut, Pink Friday, opens with the impressive “I’m The Best.” Then she proves to be a bitch of a rapper immediately on the second track, “Roman’s Revenge,” in which she rhymes like dungeon dragon matching Slim Shady flow by flow. On the third track,”Did It On ‘Em,” she continues to grind hard: “All these bitches is my sons / and I’ma go and get some bibs for ’em / a couple formulas, little pretty lids on ’em / If i had a dick, I would pull it out and piss on ’em.” Unfortunately, the album turns toward mainstream radio like the Rihanna-assisted “Fly” and heads straight to the club with the support of Auto-Tune and Will.i.am on “Check It Out.” With her rhyming skill and swag, she could have been the best female rapper in the game if she didn’t go pop.

Tierney Sutton’s concert at the 20th Annual Rosslyn Jazz Festival could be viewed in full on YouTube.

You might already noticed, I have been writing short reviews for albums that I really enjoyed. These albums will make great holiday gifts. I have a few more to listen to so more blurbs to come.

NPR lists its Top 10 Jazz Albums Of 2010.

With Never Stop, The Bad Plus, which made up of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King, proves that the trio can write its own tunes just as well as reinterpreting others. “The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart” opens the album with an invigorating jazz-classical improvisation that is filled with harmonic intensity and complexity. The title track, however, takes a different turn toward pop. The melody is catchy as hell even without a hook to rely on. Over Iverson’s and King’s the big, groovy beat, Anderson plays some infectious ostinatos reminiscing of Thelonious Monk. The slow pieces, “People Like You” and “Bill Hickman at Home,” find the trio digs deep into their compositions, creativities and souls. The brief “Super America” joyfully closes out the album, yet one would hope that the record would never stop.

Also worth watching: The Bad Plus at the Rosslyn Jazz Festival 2010.

In its new release, Rubber Soulive, the funkified trio, which made up of organist Neal Evans, drummer Alan Evans and guitarist Eric Krasno, gives the Beatles’ tunes a fresh soul-jazz makeover. All songs are short and instantly recognizable. The group strips down the sound and keeps the melody intact. On “Something,” Krasno literally sings the lyrics with his soulful guitar. While “Drive My Car” gets a funk-up groove, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” gets a rock, bluesy vibe. Rubber Soulive is a tasteful treatment of the Beatles’ classics.