In a few days the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood will host the Academy Awards, and so we thought that it would be a lot of fun to come up with an episode of Mondo Jazz featuring exclusively tunes inspired by, dedicated to, or titled after movie stars (regardless of whether or not they have won any Oscar awards).

Cassie Kinoshi's stunning new album, "Gratitude", new releases featuring Dave Douglas, Dave Guy, James Brandon Lewis, Alon Farber and Fredrik Nordström will bring you a high-density set of rewarding new music.

The gorgeous new album by Sean Ono Lennon, "Asterisms" (Tzadik), opens a set of electro-acousti otherworldly beauty.

Welcome to your weekly fix of recent and upcoming releases, from the seismic brasshouse of Too Many Zooz, to the re-imagining of Sun Ra's "The Magic City" by Meshell Ndegeocello, and a whole lot in between.

The restless spirit of Moppa Elliott kicks off a set that illustrates the breadth and depth of today's scene.

This time we focus on a number of emerging artists and their search for a personal synthesis of the many influences that have shaped them for a set bookended by deep grooves and avant-funk.

A set with countless flavors and colors from all around the world featuring songs about travelling to the Moon, or traveling sustainably; Afrobeat songs; songs of low simmering groove; songs by cellists; and more.

A playlist in which edgy and calm take turn, but never at the expense of the surprise factor.

An episode bookended by two albums destined to be in the "best of 2024" lists under the categories "new releases" (Riley Mulherkar's) and "Unearthed Gems" (Alice Coltrane's). In between, various ways to infuse jazz with Brazilian music - and the odd library music tune for good measure.

If the episodes of a radio show could have a capital, the capital of this episode would have to be New Orleans, where almost all the roads coming out of the songs in this playlist lead, one way or another.

Today we focus on the new albums by two revered European bands De Beren Gieren and Ill Considered, and a peculiar case of artistic synchronicity: two intriguing albums of music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson, which have been independently but almost simultaneously concocted by Amanda Gardier and Marty Isenberg in 2022 and recently released.

With this playlist we focus on deep listening as a mindset for musicians who wish to achieve successful recording sessions, through a number of albums of seamless interplay.

Nubya Garcia returns; Impulse! Records further syncs itself to today's scene; Ches Smith finds catharsis in laughter; Ken Stubbs pays tribute to Sonny Rollins... These are only some of the interesting things in this episode of Mondo Jazz.

Straight to you from Bushwick, NY--from where Mondo Jazz broadcasts--here is music rooted in Amsterdam and New Amsterdam, Sydney and Munich and other places in between.

This set focuses on Andrew Hill, Herbie Nichols, Bob Dorough and Oliver Nelson, four American originals and various generations of musicians they've inspired.

The elegance of the unforeseen might well be the core theme of this set featuring gorgeous and surprising international projects.

Zoe Rahman opens the show with the beautiful writing and arrangements of her latest album, followed by two remarkable recent releases by Jason Adasiewicz. At the end of the set the compelling music of Vilhelm Bromander.

At a time when music producers have been seriously entertaining the thought of promoting one minute-long songs to deal with the short attention span of today's online music listeners, we want to celebrate musicians who are unfazed by this trend, and instead they follow their internal muse. At the top of the hour the remarkable new album by Loren Stillman.

Chris Potter's upcoming album and then two tunes which were recorded without any concerns about time limitations, either in studio or live on stage, a place where suddenly the perception of time is altered in the midst of the creative flow.

At this stop we focus on up and coming pianists, Butcher Brown's eclecticism and some interesting European projects.

The sultry depth of Dominique Fils-Aimé paves the way to a number of projects which merge fun and intensity, and a long-awaited re-release.

Enjoy a set featuring jazz inspired by a Persian mathematician, Omar Khayyam; jazz which blends with Hindustani and Carnatic music; jazz that meets a chamber string quartet; jazz that pays tribute to Joni Mitchell; and a whole bunch of other jazz permutations.

New York City's Winter JazzFest might be the festival where fans and promoters from all over the world come to learn about the New York scene's going-ons, but it is also the event where Newyorkers get a rare chance to see remarkable musicians from abroad (or at least from out of town), including those featured here. Enjoy a playlist which will make you want to go to see them live!

We may regret not having been around when some of our idols were writing the pages that have now become foundations of the music we love. There is not much we can do about that, other than fantasizing about those times and those musicians. What we can do however is feeling lucky to live at a time when there is a number of modern masters in action. One of them is trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire [pictured], for whom 2023 was a remarkable year. Here we focus on the wide range of releases he has worked on, as well as on those of other adventurous musicians.

This is the last hour of Mondo Jazz for 2023. Thank you for your attention and support in the past 12 months. We look forward to sharing more beauty in the key of jazz in 2024.