Dave Liebman’s Expansions Group’s ‘Earth’ Album Reviewed
Scientists estimate that the earth vibrates at varying frequencies between 7.83 and 33.8 Hz. Of course, music also consists of rhythmic waves, though they are limited to our unaided hearing …
Reviews
Captain Supernova’s ‘The Voyage Never Ends…’ Album Reviewed
In his early writings, philosopher Søren Kierkegaard utilized various pseudonyms to present distinctive viewpoints and to interact with each other in complex dialogues. Throughout its history, jazz musicians have also …
Kassa Overall’s ‘I THINK I’M GOOD’ Album Reviewed
The human brain is incredibly powerful. It controls every function of our bodies, allows us to reason, and permits us to both create and appreciate art. To do so, it …
Stream Antoine Berjeaut’s ‘Moving Cities’ Album Featuring Makaya McCraven and Junius Paul
Trumpeter and producer Antoine Berjeaut hails from the Paris Superior Conservatory of Jazz Music. He leads the group Wasteland featuring Mike Ladd, and is an active member of the Surnatural …
Pianist and Vocalist Lauren Lee’s ‘Windowsill’ Album Reviewed
Lauren Lee’s new album, Windowsill, emerged from a six-week residency in the Swiss Alps, where the young jazz pianist and vocalist wrote new music inspired by the peaceful scenery. The …
‘Louis Armstrong Live In Europe’ Reviewed
As Nextbop prides itself on presenting jazz of the present moment and the future, at first glance it may appear unusual for the site to review music recorded over sixty …
Ben Williams’ ‘I AM A MAN’ Album Reviewed
On February 1, 1968, a malfunctioning garbage truck fatally crushed two black Memphis sanitation workers – Echol Cole and Robert Walker. Their passing was in many ways directly the fault …
Tomas Fujiwara’s ‘7 Poets Trio’ Album Reviewed
When one thinks of jazz trios, the combination found on 7 Poets Trio is probably not what comes to mind. Then again, when looking at the members of this trio, …
Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell’s ‘The Adornment of Time’ Reviewed
A single fully-improvised piece of over an hour in length, percussionist Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Marilyn Crispell’s The Adornment of Time is a challenging work. It is not simple, danceable, …
Trumpeter Dave Douglas’ New Album ‘Engage’ Reviewed
Not one to shy from politics, Dave Douglas’ Engage tackles a variety of hot button topics ranging from gun control to immigration. To address these issues, the bandleader assembled a …
Dan Weiss Trio Plus 1’s New Album ‘Utica Box’ Reviewed
Utica Box unfolds. It requires patience. There’s a mood to build to and reward that building of tension. Dan Weiss is shooting for a lot of this with his latest …
Miles Davis’ ‘Rubberband’ Album Reviewed
Mostly recorded in 1985, at the height of Miles Davis’ most critically maligned era, Rubberband is unlikely to be appreciated by one who generally disfavors the artist’s 1980s oeuvre. However, …
Yes! Trio’s New Album ‘Groove du Jour’ Reviewed
I was introduced to Aaron Goldberg through his Worlds album; I heard him play at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2008 and got really hung up on his version of …
Javier Santiago’s New Ropeadope Album ‘B-Sides: The Phoenix Sessions’ Reviewed
It cannot be said that Javier Santiago plays the keys without a sense of lyricism and tension. It cannot be said that Santiago doesn’t compose songs with powerful arcs that …
Trumpeter Yazz Ahmed’s Ropeadope Debut ‘Polyhymnia’ Reviewed
It’s no secret to those that follow jazz that London is one of the places to be right now. The English capital has an exciting young scene. Bahraini-British trumpeter Yazz …
Portico Quartet – ‘Memory Streams’ (Album Review)
After the last couple years of albums from London’s Portico Quartet — 2017’s Art in the Age of Automation and 2018’s companion piece, Untitled (AITAOA #2) — it’s hard to …
Drummer Andrew Munsey’s Debut Album ‘High Tide’ Reviewed
Debut records can make or break an artist, but it seems that drummer Andrew Munsey already has it figured out. Munsey has worked in the past as a sideman and …
Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn – ‘The People I Love’ (Album Review)
There’s a funny thing about round numbers and commemorations. People add extra value to big signpost years in the narrative of things, to make them somehow make more sense in …
Harpist Brandee Younger’s Latest Album ‘Soul Awakening’ Reviewed
Although Soul Awakening officially carries a 2019 release date, it was finished much earlier. Having been recorded in 2012 and completed in 2013, Harpist Brandee Younger’s fourth album as a …
Zach Brock | Matt Ulery | Jon Dietemyer – ‘Wonderment’ (Album Review)
Violinist Zach Brock, bassist Matt Ulery, and drummer Jon Deitemyer first started playing together in 2005 in Chicago. It was a musical companionship that made sense and held to various …
BIGYUKI, Nate Smith’s KINFOLK, and Butcher Brown Perform at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival
July 2nd was a busy albeit fulfilling evening at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival, beginning with a BIGYUKI and Nate Smith + KINFOLK double-bill at the Monument National and …
Aaron Whitby – ‘Cousin From Another Planet’ (Album Review)
Aaron Whitby has been a session player for years, backing folks like Randy Brecker, Natalie Cole, George Clinton, and his wife Martha Redbone. In this time, his own voice as …
Makaya McCraven Performs at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival
Drummer Makaya McCraven is the only musician to receive Nextbop’s Album of the Year on two separate occasions, first in 2015 for his sophomore effort In the Moment then again …
The Comet Is Coming – ‘Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery’ (Album Review)
In recent years, Shabaka Hutchings has arguably become the face of the London jazz scene. This status has not arrived without merit, as the tenor sax/bass clarinetist has recently led …
Linda May Han Oh Performs at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival
Linda May Han Oh’s prolific career never ceases to amaze, and her ability to keep raising the bar every step of the way is nothing short of remarkable. Widely regarded …
Yaron Herman Performs at the 2019 Montreal International Jazz Festival
When we first launched our humble little website, way back in 2009, a shortlist of artists served as our main inspiration to bring jazz music to the masses, notably to …
Sean Foran & Stuart McCallum – ‘Counterpart’ (Album Review)
Every now and then, a quartet comes together that just epitomizes sweetness. They make music that is entirely lovely, like made for babbling brooks and breezy summer days that aren’t …
Linda May Han Oh – ‘Aventurine’ (Album Review)
Every time bassist Linda May Han Oh releases an album, it’s always filled to the brim with beat and soul. Her compositions have the complex ideas one would expect of …
Brian Krock- ‘Liddle’ (Album Review)
Brian Krock is a guy who has in very short order shown that he knows what he’s doing. His first album with his large ensemble, Big Heart Machine already showed …
Irreversible Entanglements & Pat Thomas – ‘5.4.18’ (Album Review)
Irreversible Entanglements burst onto the avant-garde jazz scene with a fascinating debut that was as abrasive as it was captivating. The roar of Camae Ayewa’s (a.k.a. Moor Mother) socio-political poetry …
Jeff Ballard – ‘Fairgrounds’ (Album Review)
It’s hard not to love Jeff Ballard’s solo work. He’s a percussionist who isn’t afraid to get weird. He’s probably best known for his branching out work with the Brad …
Steph Richards – ‘Take the Neon Lights’ (Album Review)
Although trumpeter Steph Richards hails from Canada, she has a deep connection with New York City. Like many modern jazz musicians, Richards’ has built a name for herself in New …
James Brandon Lewis – ‘An UnRuly Manifesto’ (Album Review)
Each James Brandon Lewis album feels like an examination. There’s some idea he has stumbled across and the tenor saxophonist and his team are going to comb over every detail …
Stephan Crump’s Rosetta Trio – ‘Outliers’ (Album Review)
Stephan Crump has an impressive resume. In just the past two years, the bassist has been a part of mesmerizing feats of collective improvisation (Planktonic Finales with Ingrid Laubrock and …
Anton Eger – ‘Æ’ (Album Review)
Drummer Anton Eger has always been a fascinating ball of energy. His work as a drummer, particularly with the trio Phronesis, is constantly moving, replete with ideas that never seemed …
Ingrid Laubrock – ‘Contemporary Chaos Practices – Two Works for Orchestra with Soloists’ (Album Review)
German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, a musician who usually works in relatively small jazz groups, is now taking her vision to the orchestra. With two pieces full of engrossing discord and …
Rose Ann Dimalanta Trio – ‘It’s Time’ (Album Review)
On the new album It’s Time, the Rose Ann Dimalanta Trio serves as musical chefs who sprinkle healthy dashes of jazz, soul, R&B, pop and funk into each song to …
Blue Standard – ‘A Good Thing’ (Album Review)
Toronto-based duo Blue Standard, made up of pianist Jesse Whiteley and vocalist Raoul Bhaneja, are a pleasant pair. Their approach to jazz standards, as displayed in their debut album A …
Gideon King and City Blog – ‘Upscale Madhouse’ (Album Review)
Gideon King and City Blog released their debut self-titled album in 2015. It was a well-received LP that showcased their potential for greatness — in the jazz world especially. It …
Sam Harris – ‘Harmony’ (Album Review)
There’s something about the natural build of Sam Harris‘ songs on his new album, Harmony. The pianist who has work with Ambrose Akinmusire, Melissa Aldana, Logan Richardson, and others has …
Braxton Cook – ‘No Doubt’ (Album Review)
The idea of Braxton Cook making an R&B album isn’t all that surprising. The seeming ease with which he plays the saxophone always had an amiable quality to it. But …
Jonathan Finlayson – ‘3 Times Round’ (Album Review)
Trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson as a composer and arranger knows quite a bit about interlocking rhythms. Finlayson’s work has always had a driving momentum to it, forging ahead and exploring almost …
Dan Tepfer – ‘Natural Machines’ (Album Review)
For 4 ½ years, pianist Dan Tepfer has been using modern technology to rethink the idea of the prepared player piano. His applying the coding program SuperCollider to respond to …
‘In Common: Walter Smith III, Matthew Stevens, Joel Ross, Harish Raghavan, Marcus Gilmore’ (Album Review)
In Common is an album co-led by tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, guitarist Matthew Stevens, vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Marcus Gilmore. It’s an album with a …
Makaya McCraven – ‘Universal Beings’ (Album Review)
We’ve been here before, in awe of the drumming, bandleading, and exploration of Makaya McCraven. His last full-length album, In the Moment was a well-curated collection of sounds that emerged …
Jason Palmer – ‘At Wally’s Volume 2’ (Album Review)
When one thinks of music in Boston, “jazz” may not be the first word that comes to mind. This is understandable – the amount of venues where one can frequently …
Aaron Parks Little Big – ‘Aaron Parks Little Big’ (Album Review)
Aaron Parks makes music that tells stories. There’s a narrative quality to his compositions that seem to carry a throughline to some beautiful truth about the universe. It’s hard to …
Kiefer – ‘Happysad’ (Album Review)
The West Coast, and more specifically, the LA-based jazz scene, has had a bit of a resurgence in the past decade. While the Brainfeeder label has dominated the headlines, Kiefer …
Psychic Temple feat. Cherry Glazerr – ‘Houses of the Holy Vol. 1’ (Album Review)
It had been a little while since guitarist/vocalist/producer/bandleader/”cult”leader Chris Schlarb and his rotating group of musicians, the Psychic Temple, released some new work since last year’s folky, genre bending IV. …
Binker and Moses – ‘Alive in the East?’ (Album Review)
Tenor Saxophonist Binker Golding and drummer Moses Boyd are part of the exciting young London jazz scene that has been taking the genre by storm lately with projects by artists …
Now Vs Now – ‘The Buffering Cocoon’ (Album Review)
Keyboardist Jason Lindner is a weirdo. The top of his head is bald but he cuts the back of sides of his hair in crazy parts; he frequently wears a …
Brandon Lopez – ‘quoniam facta sum vilis’ (Album Review)
Esperanza Spalding in an interview once described the bass as the most sensual instrument. To play it, one must sit it against the pelvis. Its vibrations are meant to evoke …
Phronesis’ New Album ‘We Are All’ Reviewed
We Are All, the eighth album from piano-bass-drums trio Phronesis gets directly to the point. It’s a tidy album of six songs full of the rising energy, quick turns, precision …
Big Heart Machine – ‘Self-Titled’ (Album Review)
I use the word “dynamic” a lot. It’s a word that invokes movement, variance, fluidity, structure, and so many other good qualities that indicate something is holding my attention. I …
Miles Okazaki – ‘Work (Complete, Volumes 1-6)’
Guitarist Miles Okazaki has for some time been working on playing the complete works of Thelonious Monk. This process has made for some great Instagram videos, but it was unlikely …
Jesse Fischer – ‘Flipped II’ (Album Review)
Let me come out the gate with a strong statement: I firmly believe that the Young Lions movement is one of the worst things to ever happen to jazz. Don’t …
fOUR – ‘X.IT’ (Album Review)
It would seem natural that all the work multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood has been doing under his solo project, fOUR, would be leading to an album. Wood has been releasing videos …
Horne + Holt – ‘Wires’ (Album Review)
Horne + Holt, the instrumental duo of guitarist Jonathan Horne and cellist Randall Holt, sound simultaneously expansive and stark, at least they do on their latest album, Wires. The pair …
Basher – ‘100% Humidity’ (Album Review)
We’ve remarked on the neat brilliance of saxophonist Byron Asher’s music before. The Louisiana artist has been a solid staple in a number of groups who have hit our radar …
Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet – ‘Polka – Worldwide Deluxe Edition’ (Album Review)
Polish bassist/composer Wojtek Mazolewski has a great understanding of groove. There’s an easy sensibility to his music, just coasting along. Even in its heights, the music seems to have arrived …
The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra – ‘Get It How You Live’
Russell Gunn’s Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra has a lovely familiarity to it. Wes Funderburk & Gunn’s arrangements for his large ensemble, headquartered out of Atlanta (and recorded at my own …
Javier Santiago – ‘Phoenix’
The ease with which one can cling to keyboardist Javier Santiago is very reminiscent, oddly enough, of the better corners of smooth jazz. Santiago as a leader melds the best …
Blacks’ Myths – ‘s/t’
Washington, DC, duo Blacks’ Myths are hypnotically gripping. In five compositions (three of considerable length), the pair are exploring the realm of ambient music, Afrobeat, drone, and jazz, finding ways …
Justin Brown – ‘NYEUSI’
For years, I have referred to Justin Brown as a murderer. He has an adeptness at the drum kit so technically rambunctious, so particularly expressive, that one’s previous thinking about …
Broken Shadows – The North Door – June 20, 2018
Paper burns at 451°F. At what temperature do master musicians start burning? When everything is going just right on stage? Broken Shadows — the quartet of Tim Berne on alto …
Jungsu Choi Tiny Orkester – ‘Tschuss Jazz Era’
As someone who has written for theater, musicals and film, Jungsu Choi is no stranger to the grand. The South Korean composer has brought together a band of twelve top …
Brad Mehldau Trio – ‘Seymour Reads the Constitution!’
The Brad Mehldau Trio — Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums — have not released an album together in four years, 2014’s Blues and …
Thumbscrew – ‘Ours’ and ‘Theirs’
Thumbscrew – the trio of guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara – are giants at the particular kind of weird they do individually, but they’re practically …
Adam O’Farrill – ‘El Maquech’
Trumpeter Adam O’Farrill is wise beyond his years. It’s the only reasonable explanation for his second album as a leader to be so superb, or his first album, Stranger Days …
Paul Bedal – ‘Mirrors’
Chicago-based pianist Paul Bedal has a crispness to his style of play. Not too ornate or flowery, expressive but direct, illustrative but pointed. This is his style on the keys …
Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg – ‘Dirt… And More Dirt’
At this point in Henry Threadgill’s career, we already know the dynamic. Everything else is a refinement of those shifting polyrhythms, those floating melodies that skirt about the tonal and …
‘Slim Bone Head Volt, Vol. 2’
Slim Bone Head Volt is the collaborative project of composer/pianist/violinist/violaist Dana Lyn and writer/actor Vincent D’Onofrio. It’s an odd project, a curious project. It’s also kind of amazing, which is …
Portico Quartet – ‘Untitled (AITAOA #2)’
Radiohead’s 2001 album, Amnesiac, was recorded in the same sessions as their 2000 album, Kid A, which saw the group begin their exploration into a more electronic sound. It’s hard …
Introducing Zach Rhea
Drummer/composer Zach Rhea is from Lafayette, Louisiana. He’s an affable guy with an epic beard, an amusing penchant for naming songs, and fantastic musical sensibilities. At a recent San Antonio …
‘Sun Speak with Sara Serpa’
Sun Speak, the Chicago duo of guitarist Matt Gold and drummer Nate Friedman, have always sounded great together. Since their 2014 debut, the pair have made a tight sound that …
Mary Halvorson – ‘Code Girl’
If there is one word that cannot be used to describe Mary Halvorson, it’s stagnant. In the past decade, the unconventional guitarist has been consistently expanding the range of her …
Caroline Davis – ‘Heart Tonic’
Alto saxophonist Caroline Davis knows her way around a tune. Her songs on her new album, Heart Tonic, can be angular, smooth, poppy, earnest jams, or driving runs. She’s a …
Zack Nestel-Patt – ‘River Run’
Bassist/composer Zack Nestel-Patt describes his debut album, River Run, as having “the sensibilities of an indie rock album” while still rooted in jazz elements and the “tradition of improvised music”. …
Mopo – ‘Mopocalypse’
Mopo is the trio out of Finland of Linda Fredriksson on alto & baritone saxophones, Eero Tikkanen on acoustic & electric bass and violin, and Eeti Nieminen on drums, percussion, …
Soulive – ‘Cinematics Vol. 1’
Soulive, the trio of drummer Alan Evans, guitarist Eric Krasno, and keyboardist Neal Evans, is back with their first album in six years, and their easing their way back with …
16 the Olympus – s/t EP
16 the Olympus is a friendly outfit. There’s a sense of epicness grasped for in the arch of their songs, but the effusiveness of the group seems to break through …
Glenn Zaleski – ‘Solo Vol. 1’
Pianist Glenn Zaleski has a new solo piano album out now. It’s a simple affair, not too flashy or ostentatious. He’s playing standards with a gentle deftness. He’s not making …
Nutria – ‘Call to the Air’
Nutria is the New Orleans-based trio of tenor saxophonist/overall reedist Bryon Asher, bassist Trey Boudreaux, and drummer Shawn Myers. The three got together in 2014 at the graduate program at …
GoGo Penguin – ‘A Humdrum Star’
If there was ever a time to immerse yourself in GoGo Penguin’s music, it is now. Coming off of a string of popular and highly acclaimed albums as well as …
Similar Fashion – ‘Portrait Of’
On Portrait Of, the sophomore offering from Los Angeles-based experimental quartet Similar Fashion, the group presents an intricate yet viscerally compelling musical object, full of inventive layering and development of …
Quin Kirchner – ‘The Other Side of Time’
When speaking of jazz cities, New York and New Orleans are the ones that immediately come to mind, however, Chicago also deserves a shout. The city is no stranger to …
Kris Davis & Craig Taborn – ‘Octopus’
Solo piano albums are tough listens. They’re exercises in spacing, balance, dynamism, and are generally more intellectual exercises than most jazz albums. Duo piano albums are even tougher. One — …
Onyx Collective – ‘Lower East Suite Part One’ and ‘Lower East Suite Part Two’
I’m a sucker for albums that inhabit a very specific geographical location. Albums that, upon listening to, make you “feel” as if you are physically and emotionally there. Albums where …
Immortal Onion – ‘Ocelot of Salvation’
Polish piano-bass-drum trio Immortal Onion are a young group, early twenties. They’ve got mastery of their instruments and they have a sound that’s of their time. That’s how youth invents– …
Esperanza Spalding – ‘Exposure’
Lately Esperanza Spalding seems to be in the business of doing things her fans don’t expect. Considering the music of the more R&B-influenced Radio Music Society, her last album, Emily’s …
Cat Toren’s Human Kind – ‘s/t’
In the liner notes of Cat Toren’s Human Kind, the pianist looks to the past to address the present. Even without the notes, it does not take much analysis to …
Jaimie Branch – ‘Fly or Die’
Although Jaimie Branch has been playing music for a while now, having been part of the Chicago jazz scene before her recent move to Brooklyn, Fly or Die is her …
Makaya McCraven – ‘Highly Rare’
Something about drummer/producer Makaya McCraven’s aesthetic always seems to come off as gritty. Sure, his latest album, Highly Rare, was recorded live to 4-track tape in a Chicago dive bar, …
Combsy – ‘s/t’
Chris Combs for some time had been a crucial element of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, adding not just angles to the group’s sound but real curves. Playing the …
Tomas Fujiwara – ‘Triple Double’ (Album Review)
Tomas Fujiwara has been active for well over a decade now, with his first recorded date as a sideman being on Matana Robert’s The Calling back in 2006. Just a …
Alex Stuart – ‘Aftermath’ (Album Review)
Australian guitarist Alex Stuart moved to Paris in 2005. He’s since then recorded three albums, won the jury prize at the Jazz à Juan International Jazz Festival, and was nominated …
Sam Newsome & Jean-Michel Pilc – ‘Magic Circle’ (Album Review)
Jean-Michel Pilc plays the piano as if there were drums present, particularly in times when there isn’t. His left-handed beat is infectious, almost as much as his loquacious right hand. …
Brandon Seabrook’s ‘Needle Driver’
Guitarist Brandon Seabrook’s new album, Needle Driver, is quick and dirty. It could hardly be classified as a jazz album, but we’re going out on a limb and saying it …
Mammal Hands – ‘Shadow Work’ (Album Review)
For some reason, there is a special place in my heart for European jazz music, a breed of its own often misrepresented in North American circles. Even here at Nextbop, …
(U)nity – ‘(U)nity is Power’ (Album Review)
The band (U)nity, co-lead by pianist Axel Laugart and percussionist Amaury Acosta, are legit and have been for a minute now, but with the release of their first proper album, …
Gregory Sallet Quintet – ‘Le Mouvement Cree la Matiere’
Of his new album, Gregory Sallet has said that Le Mouvement Crée la Matière is “an act of transformation”. Music can create a truly transformative experience, with the potential of …