"Forgive me if my hunger conflicts with what you eat / I prayed for moments you would only be consumed by me / Often times you receive and then regret / I haven't had a reason yet / This is the time God has meant for us to be." With poetry like that, the long time coming debut of Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Algebra Blessett is clearly worth the wait. Navigating affairs of the heart to soundtracks that morph from the sophisticated side of neo soul to the sunny side of vintage hip hop, Algebra – the first artist to bow on Kedar Massenburg's reactivated imprint – is about to put heads in a blissful whirlpool with her equations on romance. While songs like "Simple Complication" remind us of people the lady has written for in the past (in this case India.Arie), the real highlights of her 14-song disc are two compositional collaborations with Eric Roberson ("No Idea" and "Come Back"), two contributions from producer Kwame ("Halfway" and "Run and Hide"), the near epic crossroads contemplation "What Happened" (produced by Bryan-Michael Cox), and the opening and closing numbers that Algebra composed alone, accompanying herself on guitar: "At This Time" (from which the opening quote was lifted) and the sublime "Now & Then." Prepare to hear much more from this lady.

The Minneapolis quintet tones down the rock and jazz elements on this 12-song CD to give their fans a more straight ahead urban experience musically, but with some twists and turns as far as subject matter. Meditating on the joys and challenges of parenthood, the fellas open the album with the first single, "Babyboy/Babygirl" (featuring Anthony Hamilton), then later kick another song titled "Gratitude" that shows appreciation for the drastic measures a father went through to make sure home was held down. Radio will likely gravitate toward "Somethin'" (a guy telling his girl she's not fooling him with her disappearing acts – he used to do the same things…when he was younger) and the super sexy Kama Sutra joint "Moan." The furthest out this album gets is with "Why Don't We Try" with its techno beats played against nursery rhyme synth lines as the soundtrack to a piece contemplating monogamy. It's followed by the slick modern blues thing "Back and Forth" (about putting an end to a bullshit relationship). And they end the album with a hoot called "Wish I Could Love You (Pimp Juice)" that you just have to hear to believe. You've gotta love Mint, arriving at a relaxed balance of inside and outside elements.

I first saw Esperanza playing upright bass behind Christian Scott at the Roxy – a tiny, foxy, attention-stealing presence throwing down no-nonsense musicianship for hire. A year later, I saw her leading her own group in a small upstairs room at the North Sea Jazz Festival and was astounded to learn that she was also an Electra-like vocal gymnast with a multi-octave range. I found her Barcelona import debut, Junjo, to be a bit timidly rendered. But her brand new sophomore release is a knockout! 23 and already an instructor at the Berklee School of Music, bilingual Spalding is as powerful a writer as she is a player, intuitively melding Latin, Jazz and Funk with youthful gusto. Highlights range from the attitude vocal jams "I Know You" and "She Got to You" to the winding instrumentals "Mela" and "Fall In," and the mesmerizing closing cover of Baden Powell's "Samba Em Preludio." Musicians include drummer Horacio Hernandez, pianist Leo Genovese and alto sax man Donald Harrison. She describes this project as a groove-oriented "crossover date that has the integrity of jazz." I call it a must hear CD and the lady a guaranteed breakthrough artist for 2008.

Having shared stages with artists ranging from Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston to John Denver and Tony Bennett, flutist Valarie King has long been among the most sought after players in music. The USC grad's fourth CD harkens back to the smooth, soulful and assured sounds of early GRP productions with featured guests Patrice Rushen and former Gary Toms Empire drummer Landers Pierce(!). But nobody steals the thunder of Ms. King. Dig her fiercely fleeing and funky runs on Aretha's "Rock Steady," her take on the traditional Latin waltz time gem "Zambra," her awesomely faithful transcription of Coltrane's solo on "Giant Steps," a thoroughly original spin on Ronnie Laws' "Always There" and an arousing version of the Janet Jackson title track.

With this groundbreaking new album (his first mainstream release in over a decade), guitar wunderkind Stanley Jordan created a bold and beautiful musical work to aurally illustrate profoundly unifying truths about man's relationship to nature and humankind. "Part of the reason for me making this album were revelations I discovered in my journey to try to become a better person," he states. "The other reason is I found out some disturbing information about environmental issues such as global warming." Stanley weaves classical, jazz and rock textures to get his messages of atonement and harmony across. Beyond his signature tapping technique on guitar, Stanley utilizes other revolutionary techniques. Highlights include Miles Davis' "All Blues" and Horace Silver's "Song for My Father," revealing his skill for playing piano and guitar -simultaneously. Originals such as "Forest Garden," "Prayer for the Sea" and "Healing Waves" are mesmerizing meditations of conscience. And the album's closer is a feel good finale of Joe Jackson's `80s new wave pop hit "Steppin' Out."

Jazz pianist John Beasley embarks upon a supremely inspired effort, taking its cues from both the philosophies and compositions of recent Grammy-winner Herbie Hancock. The 10-song album features Beasley reshaping classic works from across several decades of Hancock's catalog while also contributing originals that bear the stamp of his ideologies. Beasley is primarily showcased in a trio format flanked by bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, with special guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove sitting in on a few numbers. The instant classic is Beasley's intuitive juxtaposition of Hancock's chordal classics "Maiden Voyage" and "Tell Me a Bedtime Story," which he calls "Bedtime Voyage." Elsewhere, Beasley flipped Hancock's slickly winding 1980 fusion composition "4AM into an accelerated and swingin' straight ahead whirl. He took the boogaloo cue "The Naked Camera" from Hancock's score to "Blow Up" (1967) and transformed it into something that – thanks to McBride's bass line – sounds like Eddie Harris' "Listen Here…Gone Reggae." And the trance-inducing "Vein Melter" from Hancock's funk-jazz fusion classic Headhunters (1973) gets a dub-inspired makeover.

Saxophone legend Lloyd settles in with his new quartet, resulting in a group comfortable enough in their unity to take risks. That group consists of pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer/percussionist Eric Harland. This outstanding new live album (recorded in Basel) opens with the lyrical yet propulsive "Prometheus," followed by the epic rubato meditation "Migration of Spirit." Lloyd then switches from tenor sax to alto flute for "Booker's Garden" (in memory of his childhood friend Booker Little) then to the tarogato (a Hungarian single reed instrument) for "Ramanujan." Also of note of the seven songs is the one non-Lloyd original, the title track "Rabo de Nube" which translates as Tail of a Cloud. It is a beautiful ballad that Lloyd first recorded on his 2002 album Lift Every Voice and was written by Cuban singer/songwriter Silvio Rodriguez. Having just celebrated his 70th birthday on March 15, Lloyd is still playing, writing and interpreting music with a master's passion.

McComb, one of contemporary soul music's most articulate commentators on love, asserts himself to electrifying affect on this outstanding CD/DVD combo. It's the same set available in both formats and is just as fascinating to watch as to listen to. The excellent singer, songwriter and keyboardist – often described as the second coming of Donny Hathaway - leads rhythm, horn and vocal sections on this perfectly programmed set of gems from his catalog before an adoring audience. Songs include "Gotta Find a Way," "Future Love," "Love Natural" and "Do You Remember Love."

Saba is a singer/songwriter of Somalian and Italian descent. On Jidka, she tells her story – from the perspective of a person of mixed race – focusing on her identity as multi-layered and influenced by factors cultural, musical and spiritual. The music is a haunting amalgam of acoustic and electronic instrumentation- accordions meeting kora, hand drums melding with techno beats, ethnic horn and string instruments buoying her arresting alto voice (singing and rapping). When Saba was young, her family and others were given less than 48 hours to leave Somalia. Over the years, a deep homesicknezss has pushed her to learn as much as she can about the culture she left behind and has not been allowed to revisit. Very much a storyteller, Saba's songs are vivid and moralistic travelogues as much of spirit as of far away places. Package includes explanations of each song in English (she sings in her mother tongue).