It’s been said by many, including those involved in its creation, that Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly is a jazz record. There’s a strong argument to be made for that if you consider the output of Lamar’s TPAB collaborators following that landmark album’s release. Robert Glasper and Robert “Sput” Searight had already established their footholds in the improvised tradition, but subsequent debut releases by Kamasi Washington and, now, Terrace Martin further reinforce that idea. Unlike Washington’s The Epic, which is unquestionably a jazz album, Velvet Portraits almost serves as a missing link between The Epic and TPAB. Delving deeper into all extremes, from traditional R&B to G-funk, Velvet Portraits uses jazz sensibilities and instrumentation as launching points for an aural tour of South Central LA, past and present. Anchored by a band featuring Snarky Puppy drummer Sput on keys, making way for Martin’s father, Curly—a veteran of the LA live jazz scene—to handle the drum duties, and rounded out by Brandon Eugene Owens on bass, Martin and his alto sax lead the quartet through a series of instrumentals, with guest spots for vocalists like Lalah Hathaway. The whole thing is flawless, which isn’t surprising given that—in addition to his saxophone—Martin lent his production skills to no less than a third of TPAB, and to that end, no doubt, listeners will be anxious to hear the closing instrumental arrangement of Lamar’s “Mortal Man.”