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’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 …
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 …
We’ve really been digging drummer Mark Guiliana‘s new album, BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC!, the crazy weird electric jazz album that probably could use more descriptors than that but …
Bassist Petros Klampanis released a mighty fine album back in 2017, Chroma. It was a lovely addition to a steadily impressive body of work. While he’s preparing to tour through …
Israeli guitarist Idan Morim moved to New York to attend the New School in 2013, another jazz musician moving to New York to go through the gauntlet of raising the …
In 2016, saxophonist Mike Casey performed a two-hour concert with his longtime trio of bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Corey Garcia at The Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, …
Hippo, an electronic jazz trio out of Bristol, have a hard edge to them. They’ve got bounce and snap to them, with a sense of exploring groove wherever it takes …
Trombonist Ryan Keberle and his group Catharsis are getting ready to release a new album, The Hope I Hold, on the 28th on Greenleaf Music. The new album which also …
Australian guitarist Ben Eunson has been settled in New York for quite some time, finding a place for himself in the scene to apply his versatile edge in many a …
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 …
Drummer, social justice advocate, and NYC jazz staple Curtis Nowosad has a monumental new album, his third has a leader, coming June 14th to the Sessionheads United label. The eponymous …
Young trumpeter Adam O’Farrill is a total marvel. Stephan Crump knew that when he included him in his group Rhombal for their self-titled album of 2016. We definitely learned how …
Vibraphonist Joel Ross has been impressing us a great deal in the last couple years. Of course on last year’s Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings, Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens’ …
Clarinetist Anat Cohen never fails to impress on multiple instruments, and her Tentet with musical director Oded Lev-Ari is an impressive group who wowed in 2017’s Happy Song. So it’s …
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 …
With a career spanning nearly two decades, you’ve probably heard of bassist and composer Dezron Douglas by now. Douglas was a prominent part of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings last year, …
Danish group Girls in Airports are measuredly releasing a series of singles of which the latest, “LIN”, just dropped with an accompanying music video. The short song is a like …
Finnish tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy alongside drummer Teppo Mäkynen are getting ready to release a rather dope, stripped down album this June on We Jazz Records. To get y’all ready, …
Last year, Aaron Parks dazzled us with his inventive, eclectic Little Big, continuing in the spirit of his highly lauded debut, Invisible Cinema. In a similar sense of that 2008 …
Bassist and composer Fumi Tomita has been active on the New York jazz scene for over 15 years with notable appearances alongside Sheila Jordan, Christian Sands, Luis Perdomo, Dave Liebman, …
Philadelphia-based trio SPAGA of Aron Magner on piano, Jason Fraticelli on bass, and Matt Scarano on drums are gearing up to release their debut album this summer on Magner’s AM …
Multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles is releasing a new EP to follow up her 2018 EP, The Girl With the Green Shoes— Trill Suite No. 1. To start it all of, she’s …
Ben Wendel is about to take his Seasons Band with him to New York’s Village Vanguard May 14-19th. It’s going to be a highly anticipated week for one of the …
Every time bassist Linda May Han Oh releases an album, we tend to fall head over heels in love with her work anew. From 2012’s Initial Here to 2013’s Sun …
French-born, Brooklyn-based, composer and pianist Romain Collin returns with an ambitious and visionary multimedia project christened Tiny Lights…, guided by an original and personal narrative about a boy on a …
Trombonist Melissa Gardiner graduated with a bachelor’s degree from The University of Michigan where she studied jazz with Dennis Wilson and classical music with David Jackson. She then went on …
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 …
Earlier this month, drummer extraordinaire and Nextbop favorite Mark Guiliana dropped his newest opus, the third gathering of his electro-accoustic BEAT MUSIC collective, with the aptly named and hyperbolic BEAT …
Vocalist Vivian Sessoms is preparing to release the second part of her debut album, Life, a project that started out as a jazz album and found new threads of genres …
Vocalist Estar Cohen is a young composer with a chamber jazz sensibility that works pretty well. She’s been gaining quite the esteem over the last few years winning last year’s …
With long stints in Kenny Barron and Tom Harrell’s bands and his recent appearance on last year’s Dr. Lonnie Smith’s All in My Mind, Johnathan Blake has established himself over …
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 …
Bassist and composer Billy Mohler graduated from the Berklee College of Music and then proceeded to join the Monk Institute, as one of only five musicians, where he studied and …
Last year, guitarist Gilad Hekselman released Ask for Chaos, an album so full of great ideas it required two different bands — his gHex Trio and his ZuperOctave — to …
One of the finest piano/bass/drums trio of the Western Hemisphere, Phronesis, have been touring through Europe lately, uniting together again after taking some time for assorted solo work and finding …
Sony Music Masterworks is taking aim at the younger generation of music listeners. In an attempt to make jazz relevant again, it has assembled “a rotating ensemble of today’s leading, …
The last time Brad Mehldau played electric as a leader was 2014’s Mehliana: Taming the Dragon alongside drummer Mark Guiliana. That album was dope, weird, with a full, rich sound …
For those paying close attention, Chicago-born and Brooklyn-based vibraphonist Joel Ross has slowly been making a name for himself as one of the freshest and most exciting newcomers on the …
Canadian bassist, composer and arranger Steve Haines, now a professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and recipient of the North Carolina Jazz Fellowship, has had an active career …
Legendary jazz vocalist and activist Dwight Trible, known to many as the godfather of the LA jazz scene, has had a fruitful career filled with collaborations with a slew of …
Following the release of his 2015 Blue Note debut, We Are the Drum, drummer Kendrick Scott found himself in a rut. The music he now composed and played just never …
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 …
Typical Sisters — the Chicago trio of guitarist Greg Uhlmann, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Matt Carroll — exist in a nice groove. They’re doing something mostly simple with an …
Ancestral Recall, trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s upcoming new album on Ropeadope/Stretch Music drops in a couple weeks and it will definitely bring a spirited sense of chill. Today, Scott …
It’s kind of amazing what Chris Thile has done with his public radio show, Live from Here, creating a new showcase for performers in a way that only public radio …
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 …
As if we couldn’t tell you enough, we really do love the new album from Stephan Crump’s Rosetta Trio, Outliers. It’s a new album of the sweetest jams that have …
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 …
Solo piano can be a hard sell, but something about seeing the inner workings and hearing all the little steps of Hania Rani working out her prepared piano, evoking a …
Upon the release of saxophonist Brent Birckhead’s debut, self-titled album, he’s releasing a video by Babatunde Salaam depicting the beautiful soul of the streets of Baltimore. It’s an absolutely lovely …
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 …
Saxophonist Caroline Davis (whose Heart Tonic definitely wowed us last year) is keeping things moving in fascinating, adventurous directions with her new album,Alula, out May 10th on New Amsterdam Records’. …
It’s always exciting to see what Chris & Adriana Schlarb are coming up with from their Big Ego Studios. Lately, they just announced the releases of some new works, one …
As I have been saying a lot recently, it’s hard not to be charmed by guitarist Julian Lage. He’s hitting the roots of rock on his new album, Love Hurts, …
Despite it releasing last year, I have yet to move past the brilliance of keyboardist Javier Santiago’s album, Phoenix, a release of fusion fantasticness that’s just perfect for this era. …
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 …
Fresh off his Grammy nomination for 2017’s The Emancipation Procrastination, the third album of his Centennial Trilogy, trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah is gearing up to drop a new album, …
Saxophonist Brent Birckhead is about to release his debut, self-titled album next month on Revive Music. Birckhead has toured with Lauryn Hill and established his place in the New York …
I’ve been having a heck of a week, so it’s rather nice to see that Julian Lage is continually charming us once again with the new release out this February …
Percussionist Amaury Acosta, aka King Klave in his solo work and co-leader of the group (U)nity, recently dropped by the Congahead studios with friends trumpeter Keyon Harrold, keyboardist Javier Santiago, …
Chicago trio Twin Talk are getting ready to release their new album, Weaver, next month, continuing in the same earthy, elemental sound that they inhabit so well. Katie Ernst’s vocals …
One of the delights of last year was Braxton Cook’s latest album, No Doubt, a self-released collection of songs that meld all the best qualities of jazz and R&B into …
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 …
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 …
Keyboardist Mark de Clive-Lowe is an artist of great multitude. His melding sensibilities of jazz, hip hop, and other assorted musical influences has always been present in his work, yet …
Pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Zucker is a Yale graduate and Rhodes scholar who is quickly becoming a prominent voice in the New York avant-garde music scene. Zucker has won …
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 …
We’re still easing into 2019 and all the music we’re getting and will share with you soon, but in the meantime, saxophonist Ben Wendel is continuing his Standards with Friends …
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 …
As one of our most exciting times of year (which we refer to as the Season of Lists), the Nextbop staff relishes the end of the year to declare our …
As one of our most exciting times of year (which we refer to as the Season of Lists), the Nextbop staff relishes the end of the year to declare our …
Drummer Anton Eger is the rambunctiously explosive energy of Phronesis, one of the most brilliant piano-bass-drum trios on Earth period. Though while he may be best known for his work …
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 …
The Minneapolis based Atlantis Quartet of tenor saxophonist Brandon Wozniak, guitarist Zacc Harris, bassist Chris Bates, and drummer Pete Hennig have a new album out now on Shifting Paradigm Records …
Working Between New York and Montreal, French-Canadian trumpeter and composer Rachel Therrien released her fourth album, Why Don’t You Try, last year on the Multiple Chord Music label. The album …
Alto saxophonist and composer Greg Ward has a new album in store for us coming January 11th to Greenleaf Music on which he introduces his new band: Rogue Parade. Ward’s …
NORI, the quintet out of Austin that has a charming take on the contemporary, are releasing their next album this Friday, Bruise Blood (and performing in San Antonio at FL!GHT …
One of the highlight albums of 2018 is most certainly saxophonist Ben Wendel’s The Seasons, a quintet filling out compositions originally for duets released as a YouTube series in 2015, …
Cordoba is a group out of Chicago with an aim to inspire through charm. Their jazz and R&B inflected music, particularly on their latest EP, Break the Locks Off Everything, …
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 …
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 …
Pianist Bryn Roberts just released a new album alongside guitarist Lage Lund called Hide the Moon and Stars. Their lead single and video recorded from the studio, “Amaryllis”, is a …
It’s the collaboration one had to expect would happen eventually. As part of the BRAINFEEDER 10th anniversary collection, BRAINFEEDER X, celebrating a decade of releasing their particular brand of melding …
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 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 …
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 …
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 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 …
Saxophonist Marcus Strickland and his group Twi-Life are getting ready to release a new album, People of the Sun, on November 9th. The group’s latest iteration features Mitch Henry on …
GADADU, the group whose 2015 debut, And I See Night, seemed to have haunted us back then are making their return with their sophomore album, Outer Song, on October 26th. …
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 …
Run Logan Run is a unique experimental jazz duo hailing from Bristol and featuring Andrew Neil Hayes on saxophones and FX, and Dan Johnson on drums and percussion. Hard to …
Pianist Dave Meder is the youngest piano faculty member ever to be hired at the University of North Texas’ prestigious jazz program (he’ll be there teaching alongside new faculty members …
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. …
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 …
KADAWA — the trio of bassist Almog Sharvit, guitarist Tal Yahalom, and drummer Ben Silashi – blew us away last year with their self-titled release. Well, they’re still plugging at …
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 …
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 …
With the fall season’s upcoming releases looking quite promising, saxophonist Ben Wendel’s new album, The Seasons, is definitely one of the albums we are most highly anticipating around here. Based …
Early this morning, the guys of Butcher Brown just dropped a video of their take on OutKast’s “Prototype” to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the legendary double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love …