Nextbop

The Next Generation of Jazz

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Newest Posts
    • Streams & Videos
    • Reviews
    • Interviews
  • New Releases
  • Best Of Lists
    • Best of 2019
    • Best of 2018
    • Best of 2017
    • Best of 2016
    • Best of 2015
    • Best of 2014
    • Best of 2013
    • Best of 2012
    • Best of 2011
    • Best of 2010
  • Advertising Rates
  • About
  • Contact Us
Home / Blog / Reviews / Onyx Collective – ‘Lower East Suite Part One’ and ‘Lower East Suite Part Two’

Onyx Collective – ‘Lower East Suite Part One’ and ‘Lower East Suite Part Two’

January 26, 2018 By Daniel Palmer

ShareTweetSubscribe

Subscribe to our mailing list and receive our most read content directly to your inbox every month!*

* indicates required
*By subscribing, you agree to receive our monthly newsletter as well as sporadic promotional emails. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time!

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 the vibe of the music is inseparable from the connection to the city or neighborhood that the artist is inspired by or rooted in (e.g. Burial/South London, DJ Screw/East Houston, Kermit Ruffins/the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans). Unfortunately, in the social media age, where we have access to virtually visit nearly any location in the world, it is easy to lose sight of how effective music alone can be in achieving this goal. Onyx Collective is trying to change that.

Founded in 2014 by saxophonist Isaiah Barr, Onyx Collective got its start at KNOW-WAVE, the art-and-music-free-for-all radio station formerly located on the lower east side of Manhattan and created by artist Aaron Bondaroff. Early on in their career, Barr has made it his mission to paint a musical picture of the real New York City (specifically Manhattan), warts and all. In an early interview, Barr described the sound of the band: “I think it comes across as New York cityscape music. A little bit of dark nights, bright Sunday mornings, crazy Times Square, and a lot of things in between that if you live in New York you might identify with.”

While the above quote is in reference to the band’s debut album, Second Avenue Rundown, it is clear that Barr and Co. extend this theme into both of their 2017 albums: Lower East Suite Part One and Lower East Suite Part Two. While these records are distinctly different in some ways, they both eschew the clean, meticulous production of some crossover artists like Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington and present themselves as free-flowing, gritty, rough around the edges jazz.

For a jazz album, the tracks are surprisingly short, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In many ways it is extremely refreshing, as it appears the band is favoring more concise ideas and concepts that further play into painting the so called “New York cityscape music” for people that can’t physically experience the sights and sounds of NYC life for themselves. The length of these tracks feel wholly appropriate, acting as little snippets of life from different neighborhoods and locations in Manhattan.

The band goes deeper into this concept by using specific geographical locations in song titles, as we see in tunes like “175 Canal St”, “Market St.”, “East River” and of course, “172 Forsyth St.”, which is the address of the formerly mentioned KNOW-WAVE storefront radio station where Onyx Collective, was not only fully formed, but also where many of the Lower East Suite Part One songs were recorded.

Lower East Suite Part One and Lower East Suite Part Two were released about a month apart, but feel musically cut from the same cloth. Onyx Collective take their influences from various sub-genres of jazz: salsa, avant garde, bebop, hard bop, etc., but also smartly incorporate less traditional sources of material into their songs such as field recordings and spoken word pieces. The band further expands its sound by frequently experimenting with pedals and effects, often drenching drenching their instruments and vocals in delay, reverb, distortion, envelope filter and more.

Lower East Suite Part One is the stronger of the two, but both albums are very forward thinking, interesting records, and it is clear that Onyx Collective know their audience well. This is lo-fi jazz for the Instagram generation. It is jazz that allows you to experience a world miles away from home, without ever having to take off your headphones. In many ways, this style of song structure may be the future of jazz. Either way, these albums are worth your time to experience, whether you are a New York City resident or not.

Onyx Collective’s Lower East Suite Part One and Lower East Suite Part Two
are out now on Big Dada Records.

Daniel Palmer

Daniel J. Palmer is an Entertainment Law Attorney and musician with an unhealthy addiction to coffee, collecting vinyl, and listening to jazz. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Liked the post? Take a second to support Nextbop on Patreon!

Filed Under: Blog, Reviews Tagged With: Big Dada, Lower East Suite Part One, Lower East Suite Part Two, Onyx Collective

Follow Us


6,871
followers

9,720
followers

1,182
followers

Monthly Newsletter

Get our 5 most-read posts and a list of brand new jazz albums sent directly to your inbox every month!


Support Nextbop on Patreon

Top Posts

  • Rob Shepherd Favorite Jazz Albums Decade Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Jazz Albums of the Decade
  • Best Jazz Albums 2019 Nextbop’s Best Jazz Albums of 2019
  • Nardis: A Critical Analysis of Covers
  • The Pitchfork of Jazz
  • Binker and Moses – ‘Alive in the East?’ (Album Review)

Tags

Aaron Parks A Critical Analysis of Covers BADBADNOTGOOD Ben Wendel Ben Williams Biophilia Blue Note Brad Mehldau Brainfeeder Braxton Cook Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah Concord Corey Fonville Derrick Hodge ECM Edition Gerald Clayton Gilad Hekselman Greenleaf International Anthem Jason Lindner Joel Ross Justin Brown Kassa Overall Kendrick Scott Lawrence Fields Linda May Han Oh Makaya McCraven Mark Guiliana Matthew Stevens Motéma Nate Wood Nonesuch Phronesis Pi Robert Glasper Ropeadope Sarah Elizabeth Charles Stephan Crump Stretch Music Sunnyside Taylor Eigsti Thundercat Vijay Iyer Whirlwind
© 2021 Nextbop. All rights reserved.
Use of any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our Privacy Policy.