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 …
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 …
Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire has always pushed the envelope, bringing about unabashed avant-gardism and exultant individualism to the music he so lovingly creates. His latest project is no different. Stemming from …
One of the beauties of modern jazz is that it freely draws inspiration from an amalgam of other genres. Popular these days are neo soul, indie rock or hip hop, …
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 …
Every single song on Now Vs Now’s upcoming new album, The Buffering Cocoon, is brilliant, and you’ll find that out soon enough when it drops September 14th on Jazzland Recordings …
Houston-born, New York City-based pianist, keyboardist, and composer James Francies is the newest signee to the prestigious Blue Note Records label, a feat he’s remarkably accomplishing at the tender age …
Fabled is a UK band spearheaded by saxophonist and clarinetist Sam Rapley and rounded out by Alex Munk on guitar, Matt Robinson on piano, Conor Chaplin on double bass and …
This year is sure full of surprises for the jazz community! After John Coltrane’s posthumous album, Both Directions at Once, recently released on the Impulse label, a new previously unheard …
Saxophonist Johnny Butler has never been one bereft of creative ideas. That’s certainly apparent through his album HyperViolet which released last year. To keep the momentum going (and to call …
The Los Angeles jazz scene has been truly effervescent as of late with more and more extremely talented musicians deciding to call the West Coast home. Among them is Israeli …
I have extremely glowing praise for keyboardist Javier Santiago’s album, Phoenix (which I’m feeling confident that it’s one of my favorite albums of the year). So it brings me joy …
Vocalist José James is back with a new album on September 28th entitled Lean On Me, a heartfelt and honest twelve song tribute to the legendary Bill Withers in honor …
Phronesis — the trio of bassist Jasper Høiby, pianist Ivo Neame, and drummer Anton Eger — are about to drop their new album, We Are All, September 14th on Edition …
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 …
Saxophonist Miguel Zenón is one of the most prolific musicians of his generation having received such accolades as multiple Grammy nominations and both the Guggenheim and the MacArthur fellowships, in …
Pianist Art Hirahara discovered jazz while studying Electronic and Computer Music at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. During his junior year there, he began taking lessons from Cleveland jazz giant …
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 …
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 …
We’ve always been huge fans of REVIVE Music, the ever-evolving multi-faceted operation spearheaded by fellow jazz fanatic and founder Meghan Stabile. We greatly admire their entrepreneurial spirit and their passion …
Identical twins Jonathan and Jared Mattson have been playing expressive, stripped down jazz for a little while now, gaining plaudits and attention from unconventional corners (their last album was alongside …
Two and a half years ago, David Bowie released Blackstar days before his death. The album, Bowie’s final masterpiece, put front and center a jazz band, namely saxophonist Donny McCaslin’ …
Guitarist Rotem Sivan is preparing to release a new album, My Favorite Monster, on August 31st. He’s going harder on this one, finding a more rock-tinged edge of his usual …
Montreal, aside from hosting the world’s largest jazz festival, also harbors, like many other cities, a small yet resilient community of local musicians whose passion for jazz keeps the music …
You’ve all heard “Bodak Yellow” by now, the 2017 hip-hop anthem that propelled rapper Cardi B to superstardom. With its dark and hypnotic vamp and its aggressive and provocative lyrics, …
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, 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 …
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 …
Anyone who has followed Nextbop for a while may possibly know our strong feelings about Phronesis– one of our favorite piano/bass/drums trio on the planet. We mean it. Jasper Høiby, …
Keyboardist/vocalist Brandon Coleman is an LA-based musician who is in cahoots with a bunch of the all stars of that scene– Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, (Ciara, Babyface, others …
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 …
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 …
Pianist Eric Hirsh has been a North Carolina staple for a while now, backing assorted groups (most notably hip-hop collective The Beast alongside Pierce Freelon) and providing a sensible, expressive …
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 …
Guitarist Gilad Hekselman has been keeping busy, but very soon, there’s about to be a new album to show for it. Out this September on Motéma Records, Hekselman is dropping …
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 …
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 …
Herbie Hancock’s iconic album Speak Like a Child was released fifty years ago in 1968 and the anniversary hasn’t gone unnoticed by rising Star NYC trombonist Nick Finzer. In order …
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 …
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 …
Keyboardist/producer Jesse Fischer is ramping up the intrigue around his upcoming Flipped II album, release date to be determined. Perhaps the mystery behind an album of remixes and covers of …
Kneebody is continuing their cover series with a new song this week– their take on Beck’s “Dear Life” off his latest album, Colors. Comparing the two songs, Kneebody is definitely …
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 – 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 …
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 …
Israeli bassist and composer Adi Meyerson left her home five years ago, like so many others before her, to see if she could make a name for herself on the …
You should be a fan of trumpeter Adam O’Farrill. He’s an impressive young talent and a proven bandleader. Oh, sure, he’s good, particularly good for 23 years old, at that. …
The Dafnis Prieto Big Band’s new album, Back to the Sunset, is quite the grand accomplishment. Prieto’s largest ensemble yet is filled with movement after movement of his signature rhythms …
“Resting Warrior”, the new single from the supergroup R+R=NOW, has that certain Glasperian, balanced sense of sprawl where everyone gets a solo and plays that solo at the top of …
Guitarist Gilad Hekselman has a trio with pianist (or really keyboardist) Aaron Parks and drummer Kendrick Scott called ZuperOctave. They’re playful. With Parks on keyboards, there’s a different vibe to …
We talked a lot about our Jazz for the Masses event in the lead up to South By SouthWest music festival back in March. Of course, not all of you …
This one almost got away from us, but over this past Mother’s Day, Andre 3000 (y’know, of OutKast) dropped a two song EP dedicated to his late parents. Yet the …
I wasn’t really asking for this, but I also make it a habit to sleep on Rihanna (hell, I still like Sia’s earlier work), but “Work” is a catchy song …
Drummer, composer, and 2011 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Dafnis Prieto recently released what may just be his most ambitious project to date, Back to the Sunset, the debut album of the …
Drummer Jonathan Barber is quickly making a name for himself. Voted this year’s best “Up & Coming” drummer in the Modern Drummer Readers Poll, the young Barber is setting the …
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 …
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 …
Rising saxophonist Mike Casey is all about his online presence. His press releases are chalked up with social media metrics. “West End”, the first single off his upcoming album Stay …
Saxophonist Johnny Butler has always had a diversity of influences in his music. It’s worth noting, though, that one of those influences is the drummer/rapper/producer Kassa Overall. They all come …
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 …
Venezuelan pianist and Guggenheim Fellow Edward Simon is just about as well respected as anyone in the realm of jazz piano. His accolades include stints with Greg Osby and Terence …
Portico Quartet’s latest album, Untitled (AITAOA #2), the companion album to last year’s Art in the Age of Automation, just dropped last week and it’s spacey, trippy, dopeness that I …
French pianist Gauthier Toux has been racking up awards on the European circuit with his progressive blend of jazz music. His newest album, The Colours You See, is set to …
I wish I could talk about Mndsgn more often (bear with me, here, I’ll get to the feature). His last two albums have been staples in my library and floated …
Bassist and composer Martin Nevin has shared the stage with the likes of Albert “Tootie” Heath, Greg Osby, Ethan Iverson, and Ambrose Akinmusire, but Tenderness is Silent, to be released …
Tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson would have turned 81 today. Everybody’s got their favorites and Henderson is pianist/producer Jesse Fischer’s. So in tribute of the legend, Fischer just dropped the first …
Bassist/composer Petros Klampanis is a superbly talented musician with quite the mind for arrangement. His last album, Chroma, certainly is proof of that. Yet little else really displays arranging prowess …
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 …
I’ve learned a few things over the years covering the players of the modern jazz scene. Amongst those characters I’ve encountered and heard play their craft, I knew long ago …
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 …
Saxophonist Kamasi Washington has received, over the past three years, more praise and adoration than any other in the realm of jazz and of its orbiting offsprings. The mainstream media …
The multi-talented Kassa Overall keeps busy and keeps finding ways to meld all those various talents in his works. His latest effort, the four-song EP Drake It Till You Make …
Saxophonist Joe Lovano is a musician whose career I have been following for quite some time. His sound is timeless and exciting gaining momentum and grace as the years elapse. …
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 …
Keyboardist and producer Javier Santiago has been flying under the radar ever since the release of his 2015 debut EP The Year of the Horse, much to our chagrin we …
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 …
If we’re talking a lot about guitarist Rafiq Bhatia‘s upcoming new album, Breaking English, a whole lot, it’s largely because we’re really excited about it. Besides, the album drops tomorrow …
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 …
Terence Blanchard and his band the E-Collective are back with a new album entitled Live, set to drop April 20th on Blue Note Records. Following their politically-charged 2015 release Breathless, …
Trumpeter Jaimie Branch, who wowed the masses with last year’s Fly or Die, is a frequent collaborator with drummer Jason Nazary (of Bear in Heaven, Little Women, Helado Negro). Together, …
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 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, 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 …
There is a new energy awakening among a select few jazz musicians, whether explicit as in Marquis Hill’s latest EP Meditation Tape or implicit as in the album covers to …
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 …
Guitarist Nels Cline has a new group alongside fellow guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Tom Rainey, and they’re set to release their new album, Currents, Constellations, April …
Guitarist Rafiq Bhatia is steadily introducing us to his new album, Breaking English, out April 6 on Anti-. Much like the first single, “Hoods Up”, the title track with touches …
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 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 …
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 …
JUNO-nominated (that’s a Canadian GRAMMY for those who don’t know, comes with maple syrup and a beaver fur hat) jazz quartet Peripheral Vision is embarking on a tour of Western …
Shots fired in Paris. ONEFOOT, the trio comprised of keyboardist Yessaï Karapetian, bassist Marc Karapetian and drummer Matthieu Font, is rapidly making a name for itself in the Old Continent …
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 …
Guitarist Rafiq Bhatia is super dope. He does super dope work with Son Lux (new album Brighter Wounds is out now. He does super dope work with Vijay Iyer (take …
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 …
NYC jazz and hip-hop collective QNA are set to drop their sophomore effort, XII, this month. The band, comprised of MC Supe, vocalist Marina Espinet, saxophonist Benjamin Chin, guitarist TJ …
Vocalist Emma Frank brings genuine peacefulness and transparent honesty to everything she touches including her newest opus, Ocean Av, slated for a February 16th release on Brooklyn-based Susan Records. Joining …
There’s something about the latest single from Kneebody that seems familiar. It floats through the air easily and Inara George‘s vocals float along with it. It’s difficult to put a …
This song is important. It’s one of those Gospel songs that still works as a secular tune. Sounds of Blackness, the choir that put this song out in the 1990s, …
AJ Ghent [J-ent] hails out of Fort Pierce, Florida, where he grew up surrounded by music. His great uncle Willie Eason was the creator of the “Sacred Steel Tradition,” while …