Entering

This week’s list is called “20260928 Playlist,” and its first song is by Stevie Wonder. [Songs in the Key of Life] came out on September 28, 1976. Exactly fifty years later to the day, Stevie Wonder released for the first time four songs that had been left out of those album sessions.

Going through 126 songs, I found an unusually large number of records this week that bring old songs back out. There is someone who re-recorded a song from an album turning twenty at Abbey Road, someone who opens a tribute album with a 1958 tune by a master who has passed away, and someone who sang a whole album of sambas by a composer approaching the 90th anniversary of his birth. So this map follows the songs that were brought back out and the people who brought them out. It starts in Detroit and New York, passes through London and Paris, Tokyo and Melbourne, and ends in Rio. Twenty-three songs.

North America

1976 → 2026 — Stevie Wonder, 「I Can See The Sun In Late December」

[Songs In The Key Of Life: The EP], released on September 28, gathers four songs recorded but never released during the 1976 [Songs in the Key of Life] sessions. Unlike [A Something’s Extra], the bonus EP that came with the 1976 album, these are songs being heard in Stevie Wonder’s own recordings for the first time. He wrote and produced all four (he co-wrote the lyrics of “My Life Story Of Love” with Susaye Greene) and chose the songs himself. The new mixes were done by John Fischbach and Gary Olazabal, the engineers who worked on the original album. “I Can See The Sun In Late December” is track 3. As Stevie Wonder put it, he has lived with this album for fifty years, and there is still more to hear. A song left behind in the studio half a century ago has been brought back out, together with the engineers who worked on the album at the time.

New York — Joshua Redman, 「Grand Street」 (with Peter Bernstein, Christian McBride, Marcus Gilmore)

Sonny Rollins passed away this May. [If Ever You Would Leave Us (we play for Rollins)], which saxophonist Joshua Redman will release on Blue Note on November 20, is an album in his memory, and “Grand Street” is its first single. The original is a Rollins composition from his 1958 [Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass], and the drummer on that date was Roy Haynes. Marcus Gilmore, who plays drums on this new recording, is Roy Haynes’s grandson. Bassist Christian McBride was in Redman’s quartet in the early-to-mid 1990s, and guitarist Peter Bernstein also passed through his band in the mid-1990s. Redman said that getting to know Rollins was his entry point and his North Star. “Cows,” track 3 from [Points of Light] by McBride’s Ursa Major, is also on the list — the album introduced on the September 14 map with “No Rhyme, No Reason.” The grandson plays again a tune his grandfather played sixty-eight years ago.

Washington, DC → New York — Ekep Nkwelle, 「The Creator Has a Master Plan」

Ekep Nkwelle is a singer who went through the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC and Howard University before earning her master’s at Juilliard. On September 25 she released her debut album [Caged Bird] on Mack Avenue. The album is inspired by Maya Angelou, and Nkwelle describes it as a record of songs of pain and survival. “The Creator Has a Master Plan” comes from [Karma], which Pharoah Sanders released on Impulse! in 1969; Sanders wrote it with Leon Thomas. A single by Pharoah Sanders’s child is also on the same list. It is the very next song.

New York — Tomoki Sanders, 「Jazz Is Just A Game」 (feat. Nicholas Payton, Mélanie Charles)

Tomoki Sanders is Pharoah Sanders’s child. They played for a long time in drummer Kassa Overall’s band, and they run a regular show called “Tomo Tuesdays.” “Jazz Is Just A Game” is a single released on September 30 on Brownswood Recordings, Gilles Peterson’s label. New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton and singer Mélanie Charles join in. The title reads as if it takes aim at the word “jazz” itself, but what it means is for you to hear for yourself. In a week when another singer sang again a song their father wrote with Leon Thomas in 1969, the child released a single under their own name.

Ohio → Chicago → LA — megiapa, 「Black Gold of the Sun」

megiapa is a producer and vocalist born in Ohio who was active for more than ten years in Chicago’s underground beat scene before moving to LA in 2023. They are also a linguist and do visual work. On September 25 they released their debut album [Intentions] on Chicago’s International Anthem. They produced most of it themselves, and it was made partly with a grant from Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs. “Black Gold of the Sun” is track 5, a new version of “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun,” written by Charles Stepney and Richard Rudolph and released under the name The New Rotary Connection on [Hey, Love] in 1971. The track just before it, track 4 “( ( on the spaceway ) ),” is also on the list; according to the label, it ends with a quote of Sun Ra’s “Space Is the Place.” The same week, Jimetta Rose in LA released [MettaSun], an album that reimagines Sun Ra’s recordings, and its last song “I’ll Wait For You” is on this list too. megiapa wrote that fear holds dreams back, and asked us to dream together.

Detroit × Brooklyn — Apollo Brown & Skyzoo, 「The Rearview」

Apollo Brown, a producer born in Grand Rapids and working in Detroit, and Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo released [Luxury Tax] on September 25. It is the duo’s first album together in ten years, since [The Easy Truth] on September 30, 2016. Apollo Brown produced all fourteen songs, and the first song, “Soapbox Two,” picks up from “Soapbox,” the first song on [The Easy Truth]. “The Rearview” is the last track, number 14. The title means the rearview mirror. Hip-hop outlet Sneakz & Beatz called it a producer-rapper album built the old-fashioned way. They start by adding “Two” to the title of their first song from ten years ago, and end with a song that looks back.

LA — Kiefer, 「Get to the Moon」 (feat. Amber Navran, Relyae, CARRTOONS)

Kiefer’s Blue Note debut [Memory Bomb], introduced on the September 14 map through the single “BusyForYa,” came out as scheduled on September 25. He is a pianist who grew up in San Diego and studied with Kenny Burrell at UCLA. The album was produced by Kiefer with guitarist Shibo and CARRTOONS. “Get to the Moon” is track 5, featuring Moonchild singer Amber Navran, CARRTOONS and Relyae. The album introduced as a single on the map two weeks ago enters the list this week as a full album.

Fort Worth × London — Leon Bridges, 「The Way It Goes」

Leon Bridges, who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, released his fifth album [Happiness Anytime] on Columbia on September 25. Starting in July he released it in EPs of four songs each, then gathered them into a single record. The producers are J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto of the London band Jungle. “The Way It Goes” is track 10, and track 7 “All Day, All Night,” on which Lydia Kitto adds her voice, is also on the list. Bridges said he hopes the album stays in people’s bones, and that his role is to be a light. A soul singer from Texas handed the production to two members of a London dance band.

United Kingdom

Leeds → Ibiza — Nightmares On Wax, 「Damn」 (Abbey Road Gospel Version, with Chyna B)

This is the name of George Evelyn, originally from Leeds and now living in Ibiza. “Damn” was track 5 on [In a Space Outta Sound], released on Warp in 2006. For the album’s 20th anniversary, a two-song EP, [In A Space Outta Soul], came out on Warp on September 25. In the album title, “Sound” has become “Soul.” It was recorded at Abbey Road Studio 2 with arrangements made for a Royal Albert Hall performance, with Mike Lesirge as musical director. “Damn” is track 2, sung by Chyna B. Track 1 is a recording of “You Wish,” made the same way with Mozez. The Bandcamp notes say it was recorded to preserve the legacy of that moment.

Essex — Forest Law, 「Enchanted」

Forest Law is Alexander Burke, who grew up in Essex and has been working in Romford. He came through Gilles Peterson’s new-talent program “Future Bubblers” and released an EP on Brownswood in 2020 — the same label as Tomoki Sanders above. His 2024 debut album [Zero] featured pianist Greg Foat, who also had a song on last week’s list. This time he is releasing a 7-inch, [Golden Crown / Enchanted], on Les Disques Bongo Joe. The B-side, “Enchanted,” is a song Prefab Sprout put on [From Langley Park to Memphis] in 1988. The Bandcamp notes say he kept the wit and elegance of the original. The digital release came out September 25, and the 7-inch comes out October 16.

Newham — Alfa Mist, 「Found You (Live at Real World Studios)」

Alfa Mist is a pianist from Newham in East London who came into jazz from hip-hop sampling. On September 25 he released [Live at Real World Studios] on his own label, Sekito. It is an album recorded live with his band at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, with Kaya Thomas-Dyke on bass, Jamie Houghton on drums, Jamie Leeming on guitar, Johnny Woodham on trumpet and Samuel Rapley on saxophone. “Found You” is track 1; the original is on the 2025 album [Roulette]. He re-recorded a song from an album of a year ago, together with a live band.

Manchester × London — KinKai, 「Again」 (feat. ENNY)

KinKai is a Manchester rapper and soul singer. In 2020 he released “Top Down” with Children of Zeus. “Again,” released on September 22, features London rapper ENNY. The two are not meeting for the first time: KinKai guested on ENNY’s 2021 debut EP [Under Twenty Five]. The music video was shot in a psychiatrist’s office. Hip-hop blog The Hip Hop Democrat wrote that the two lock in smoothly. The rapper who guested on ENNY’s debut five years ago has now invited ENNY onto his own single.

Continental Europe

Paris — Émile Parisien, 「Portal」 (with Yaron Herman, Prabhu Edouard)

Soprano saxophonist Émile Parisien received the Prix Django Reinhardt in 2012 and was named artist of the year at the Victoires du Jazz in 2014. His quartet with pianist Yaron Herman, born in Tel Aviv and based in Paris, Prabhu Edouard on tabla and percussion, and bassist Linda May Han Oh released [Floating] on ACT on September 25. The quartet began at the concert that closed Parisien’s two-year residency at the Cité internationale in Paris. “Portal” is track 5 of eleven. Parisien said that at the heart of this music are peace and poetry, tenderness and love — a counterweight to everything happening now.

La Courneuve × Walsall — Tiakola, 「Jet Lag」 (feat. Jorja Smith)

Tiakola, a Congolese-heritage rapper born in Bondy, north of Paris, and raised in the “4000” public housing estate in La Courneuve, released [WpointM] on Atlantic France in the fourth week of September. Track 15 of seventeen, “Jet Lag,” features Jorja Smith from Walsall, England, and track 7, “Best,” features Rema from Benin City, Nigeria. “Best” is on the list too. Rema appeared on the September 21 map with the single “Oh No.” ENNY, mentioned above, is a rapper signed to Jorja Smith’s label FAMM. Nigerian outlet NotJustOk wrote that the chemistry between Tiakola and Rema is remarkable.

Zurich — Hermanos Gutiérrez, 「Tren Macho」

Brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez, whose mother is from Ecuador, grew up in Zurich. Splitting guitar, lap steel and percussion between them, the brothers released [Los Ojos Del Cóndor] on Easy Eye Sound on September 25. Dan Auerbach produced it — their third album with him — and its theme is their Ecuadorian and Peruvian roots. “Tren Macho” is track 7. Alejandro explained the title: the condor is a bird of the Andes, and it is like looking down from that height and recognizing beauty. Two brothers raised in Switzerland put the name of an Andean bird in their album title.

Italy × San Juan — Gabriele Poso, 「Maraviglia」 (Yoruba Soul Mix, with Osunlade)

Italian percussionist and producer Gabriele Poso moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2001 to study music. He debuted in 2008 on Yoruba Records, founded by American producer Osunlade, and has been musical director of the Yoruba Soul Orchestra since 2012. The original “Maraviglia” is track 3 of the LP of the same title released in June on AG Recordings, and now a remix with Osunlade has come out as a single. The label describes the album as carrying Mediterranean warmth, Afro-Caribbean percussion and a jazz sensibility, with one foot planted firmly on the dancefloor. Osunlade has reworked a song by the musician whose first record he put out on his own label eighteen years ago.

East Asia

New York × Tokyo — Chihiro Yamanaka (山中千尋), 「Blue in Green」

Pianist Chihiro Yamanaka, born in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, who went through Berklee and has been based in New York, released [Happy-Go-Lucky] on Universal on September 30. It marks 25 years since her first album, [Living Without Friday], in 2001. “Blue in Green” is a song from Miles Davis’s [Kind of Blue] in 1959. Only Davis’s name was credited on the record, but Bill Evans listed it as “Davis-Evans” on his own [Portrait in Jazz], recorded in December of the same year, and in a 1979 interview he said he wrote it. Japanese magazine Jazz Life called her a talent not seen in decades. A Japan tour, including Blue Note Tokyo, follows from October 15.

Tokyo × London — Osamu Fukuzawa & edbl, 「About Time」 (feat. INDIA BLUE)

Japanese composer and keyboardist Osamu Fukuzawa and London producer edbl released their joint album [Before We Spoke] on Stereofox Records on September 23. The album notes say it came together between Tokyo and London through trading sounds and small ideas, usually before they had exchanged many words. “About Time” is track 2, sung by INDIA BLUE. Robyn Florence and Jackson Mathod on trumpet also appear on the album. The album’s title, too, means “before we spoke.”

Oceania

Melbourne → London — Audrey Powne, 「RYV」

Audrey Powne, a trumpeter and singer born in Melbourne and now living in London, learned improvisation and how to practice from Melbourne saxophonist Tony Hicks in high school. She has done sessions with Maceo Parker, Midnight Oil and The Teskey Brothers, and names Roy Hargrove as her biggest influence. Her second album [Bodies of Water], released on BBE on September 25, was self-produced, recorded with bassist David “DJ” Ginyard and drummer Jonathan Barber at Electric Garden in Brooklyn. “RYV” is track 2, and “Creeds” is track 7. Lewis Moody, who mixed it, co-produced and mixed an album by fellow Melbourne drummer Alexander Flood, and has worked for a long time with flutist Erica Tucceri. Songs by both are also on this list.

Melbourne — Allysha Joy, 「kiss it better」

Melbourne-born singer and keyboardist Allysha Joy is the vocalist of the band 30/70. “kiss it better,” the single she released on September 25 on the UK’s First Word Records, is her first solo single since the 2024 album [The Making of Silk]. She produced it herself and recorded it at Abbey Road — the same studio where the Nightmares On Wax EP released the same week was recorded. It is an original, different from Rihanna’s song of the same name. The label named Prince and Meshell Ndegeocello as reference points for the track. Allysha Joy wrote that she woke from a dream to find herself on a big four-poster bed in New Orleans, and that the song came from that dream. She credited the song to her original 30/70 family. Erica Tucceri, mentioned above, played flute on a project by 30/70 drummer Ziggy Zeitgeist.

Latin America

Rio → Lyon — João Selva, 「Futuro」

João Selva grew up in Ipanema, Rio, the son of a pastor, and learned guitar from bossa nova singer Wanda Sá. In 2016 he met Lyon producer Bruno Patchworks and began his solo career, releasing [Natureza] in 2017 and [Navegar] in 2021, among others. “Futuro” is a single released on September 16. African music outlet PAM (Pan African Music) described [Navegar] as something close to a saudade-tinged travel diary written by an ambassador of Brazilian music in France. A pastor’s son from Ipanema has released a song titled “Future” in France.

São Paulo × Mexico City — Sessa, 「Vía Láctea」

Sessa is Sergio Sayeg from São Paulo. In 2025 he released his third album, [Pequena Vertigem de Amor], on Mexican Summer. “Vía Láctea” is a song Mexican rock band Zoé put on [Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea] in 2006. Twenty years on, [Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea (Revisitado)], in which various musicians re-sing the album’s songs, is in the works, and Sessa’s version is its second single, following “Mrs. Nitro” by Brazilian band Boogarins. On Spotify, the single carries both Zoé’s and Sessa’s names. A Mexican music outlet introduced Sessa as one of the best-known voices of São Paulo’s new generation.

Rio — Marina Iris, 「Canteiro de Obra / Amanhã Será Melhor」 (with Juliana Linhares, Chico César)

Samba singer Marina Iris released her fifth album, [Banzo Batucada – Marina Iris Canta Wilson Moreira], on Biscoito Fino on September 25. It is an album of songs by composer Wilson Moreira, born in 1936 in Realengo, Rio, who died in 2018; this December marks the 90th anniversary of his birth. Moreira was a longtime songwriting partner of Nei Lopes, and the album features Nei Lopes, Zeca Pagodinho, Jorge Aragão and Teresa Cristina. Track 9, according to the album credits, joins “Canteiro de Obra” by Moreira and Sérgio Fonseca with Solano Trindade’s “Amanhã Será Melhor,” and deals with migration from Brazil’s Northeast to the Southeast. Marina invited two Northeasterners onto this song: Juliana Linhares, a singer from Rio Grande do Norte, and Chico César from Paraíba. She said she had always wanted to record Wilson Moreira, but her earlier albums had taken her down other paths.

Closing

Laying out the twenty-three songs city by city, I found that behind many of the songs brought back out stood people connected to where those songs were first made. Stevie Wonder opened the drawer with the engineers from fifty years ago, Roy Haynes’s grandson played again a tune his grandfather played in 1958, and Osunlade reworked a song by the musician whose first record he put out on his own label eighteen years ago. Marina Iris filled an entire album with songs by a composer nearing the 90th anniversary of his birth.

This order is only one I chose to draw the map. Shuffle the list and a newcomer from 2026 follows 1976, and Leeds follows Rio. The order is for the listener to decide.

I don’t know which drawer will open next week.