(Azica Records)

Trombonist Jiggs Whigham, a Cleveland native, returns to his city of origin for a wonderful set of music. Live at Nighttown: Not So Standards is a recording of Whigham and his international trio putting on a show at the storied Northwest Ohio jazz venue. Pianist Florian Weber from Germany and bassist Decebal Badila from Romania join Whigham on stage and show that jazz really is the international language. Each of the players’ performances is on-point and their work together makes this a thoroughly enjoyable production. The setlist consists of nicely done renditions of tunes by Milt Jackson, Sonny Rollins and Henry Mancini, among others. Whigham contributes a particularly contemplative composition to the set as well, adding to the intimate atmosphere of this effort. This is definitely one to check out.