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 Kamasi Washington’s The Epic and Dr. Lonnie Smith’s All In My Mind. Add to the ranks of this enlightened jazz elite, if we shall be so bold as to coin the term, the young stalwart saxophonist Hailey Niswanger and … [Read more...]
Nextbop Interviews Rudresh Mahanthappa
Last October, alto saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa reunited his trio, the Indo-Pak Coalition which features guitarist Rez Abbasi and tabla player Dan Weiss, for a new LP entitled Agrima, the long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s Apti. For this record, Mahanthappa and the group are seen expanding aesthetic horizons: adding a modified drum set, incorporating effects and e … [Read more...]
Nextbop Interviews Marquis Hill
Trumpeter and sensei Marquis Hill is set to drop a brand new EP, aka bomb, on us December 1st. Meditation Tape EP is a seven-track succinct endeavor rooted in jazz and hip hop but most importantly branching out, as hinted by the title, into spirituality. Each track of the instrumental beat tape is followed by an excerpt from an interview with Sun Ra drummer Marvin “Bugalu” Smi … [Read more...]
Nextbop Interviews Sarah Elizabeth Charles
Vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles just released her newest album Free of Form at the beginning of the month. Co-produced by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and featuring her long-time band SCOPE (Jesse Elder [keys], Burniss Earl Travis II [bass], John Davis [drums]), Free of Form is a protest album stemming for the current social and political unrest in the United States. I caught … [Read more...]
Nextbop Interviews Kendrick Scott
Last Friday, Blue Note Records dropped Our Point of View featuring its All-Stars, namely trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, keyboardist Robert Glasper, bassist Derrick Hodge, guitarist Lionel Loueke, drummer Kendrick Scott, and tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland with special guests Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. The song list includes originals by each of the band members, as … [Read more...]