With his 2024 release Stanco’s Time, trumpet virtuoso Anthony Stanco declared that his moment had arrived—an album that honored the bebop tradition while showcasing his own bold artistic voice. Now, the Detroit native returns with In the Groove (OA2 Records), due out October 17, 2025, a record that captures the trumpet master at full stride—soulful, swinging, and alive in every sense of the word.
As its title suggests, In the Groove is all about feel. The album thrives on deep-pocket grooves and hard bop vitality, recorded live at The Alluvion, an intimate jazz club in downtown Traverse City, Michigan. There, surrounded by an audience of devoted jazz lovers, Stanco and his all-star band—Randy Napoleon (guitar), Xavier Davis (piano), John Webber (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums)—created a performance charged with the spontaneous electricity that only live jazz can deliver.
The venue’s name, “Alluvion,” meaning the natural carving of a groove by water, lends the album its thematic and metaphorical depth. Many of Stanco’s compositions echo this water imagery, paying tribute to both the Traverse City landscape and the fluid creativity that has defined his artistry.
“I grew up on the east side of Detroit—fifth generation Detroit Italian,” Stanco says. “Marcus Belgrave and Rodney Whitaker were my mentors, and they shaped everything about how I play. Traverse City has become my second home, though. The musical community here is something special.”
That community spirit is at the heart of In the Groove. Stanco’s relationship with The Alluvion extends beyond performance—he holds a monthly residency there and collaborates with club owner Jeff Haas, founder of Building Bridges with Music, a nonprofit that brings arts education to Detroit-area schools. Haas also contributed the lively composition “Tales” to the new album.
Drawing inspiration from the golden age of live hard bop recordings of the 1950s and ’60s, Stanco sought to channel that same energy and interplay. “I love those old boogaloo grooves,” he explains. “You can’t recreate that vibe in a studio. You need an audience—you need that exchange.”
The album bursts open with “T. Sea,” a sly nod to Traverse City, as Farnsworth’s driving rhythm sets the tone for an evening of joyous swing. Stanco’s love for family shines through once again with “Sonny Boy,” a playful companion piece to “Josie Rosie” from Stanco’s Time, written for his two-year-old daughter. Here, the audience joins in on the refrain, creating a warm, communal moment that defines the live experience.
Listeners are treated to standout moments across the set: Napoleon’s “Hey Cute One” inspires a hand-clapping groove from the crowd, while Duke Pearson’s “Say You’re Mine” links Stanco’s sound to the lineage of Donald Byrd and other Detroit greats. Stanco’s originals—like the swaggering “Riptide,” the contemplative “Pyramid Point,” and the fiery closer “Just a Moment,” a contrafact of John Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice”—showcase his gift for blending reverence with originality.
“The hard bop era was all about returning to the roots,” Stanco reflects. “That’s what Detroit jazz is built on. We honor the blues, but we also push forward. That’s the spirit of this album.”
With In the Groove, Anthony Stanco not only pays homage to the masters but also cements his own place among them. The album is a living, breathing testament to jazz as a communal art form—vibrant, evolving, and utterly in the moment.
2025 Tour Dates:
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October 16, 2025 – UrbanBeat, Lansing, MI | 6:00–9:00 PM | urbanbeatevents.com
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November 1–2, 2025 – Traverse City Philharmonic: Masterworks Series | tcphil.org
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November 20–22, 2025 – Cliff Bell’s, Detroit, MI | 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM | cliffbells.com
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