free jazz. Lovano and pianist Hank Jones released an album together in June 2007, entitled Kids. He played the tenor saxophone on the 2007 McCoy Tyner album Quartet. In 2008 Lovano formed the quintet Us Five with Esperanza Spalding on bass, pianist James Weidman, and two drummers, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III. Folk Art was an album of compositions by Lovano that the band hoped to interpret in the spirit of the avant-garde jazz and loft jazz of the 1960s. Bird Songs (2011) was a tribute to Charlie Parker. West African guitarist Lionel Loueke appeared on the album Cross Culture (Blue Note, 2013). Lovano played reed and percussion instruments he had collected since the 1970s. Peter Slavov replaced Esperanza Spalding on six tracks, all of them written by Lovano except for "Star Crossed Lovers" by Billy Strayhorn. "The idea [...] wasn't just to play at the same time, but to collectively create music within the music," Lovano wrote in the liner notes to Cross Culture. "Everyone is leading and following," and "the double drummer configuration adds this other element of creativity." In recent years Lovano has released three records with trumpeter Dave Douglas in a co-led group called Sound Prints. He has also moved over to ECM records, largely adopting the mellow vibe and use of space characteristic of the label. He is a high-profile guest on the acclaimed Arctic Riff (2020) by Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski. Lovano has taught at the Berklee College of Music. He taught Jeff Coffin after Coffin was given a NEA Jazz Studies Grant in 1991. Downbeat magazine gave its Jazz Album of the Year Award to Lovano for Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard. Instruments Lovano has played Borgani saxophones since 1991 and exclusively since 1999. He has his own series called Borgani-Lovano, with a pearl silver body and 24K gold keys. Discography As leader 1985: Tones, Shapes & Colors (Soul Note, 1985) – live 1986: Hometown Sessions (JSL, 1986) 1986: Solid Steps (Jazz Club, 1986) 1988: Village Rhythm (Soul Note, 1989) 1989: Worlds (Evidence, 1989) – live 1989: Ten Tales with Aldo Romano (Sunnyside, 1994) 1990: Landmarks (Blue Note, 1990) 1991: Sounds of Joy (Enja, 1991) 1991: From the Soul (Blue Note, 1992) 1992: Universal Language (Blue Note, 1992) 1993: Tenor Legacy (Blue Note, 1993) 1994: Rush Hour (Blue Note, 1995) 1994–95: Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1995) –