Saxophonist and composer Jerome Sabbagh has long been recognized as an artist who refuses to compromise his ideals — standing firm for artistic integrity, individuality, and a socially conscious vision. His new album, Stand Up!, out October 17, 2025, embodies those convictions with passionate playing and memorable compositions brought to life by his long-standing quartet. Recorded live to analog tape and released on his newly founded label, Analog Tone Factory, the record feels both timeless and urgent.
Stand Up! celebrates more than twenty years of collaboration between Sabbagh and his remarkable bandmates: guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Nasheet Waits, who makes his recorded debut with the quartet. It marks their first release in over a decade, following a period in which Sabbagh pursued acclaimed projects with jazz masters like Kenny Barron (Vintage) and the late Al Foster (Heart). Yet the quartet’s bond remained unbroken. “A lot of my favorite music in jazz has been created by working bands,” Sabbagh reflects. “You develop trust, and that’s when real discovery happens.”
The album’s title recalls a tune from Sabbagh’s 2007 album Pogo, but today it resonates even more powerfully — a call to creative and personal courage in turbulent times. “I feel both a desire and a sense of urgency to be myself artistically,” Sabbagh explains. “It’s time to stand up for what you believe in, whether that means making an artistic statement or trying to make a positive impact in the world.”
The compositions on Stand Up! are as intimate as they are expansive, each one dedicated to someone who has shaped Sabbagh’s musical path. The opening track, “Lone Jack,” pays homage to Ray Charles and to pianist and producer Pete Rende, Sabbagh’s Analog Tone Factory partner. “Michelle’s Song” and “High Falls” are personal dedications, the former a tender ballad, the latter a Brazilian-tinged reflection on memory and place. “Lunar Cycle” nods to Sam Rivers’ Fuchsia Swing Song and embodies that same adventurous balance of melody and freedom. “The Break Song,” dedicated to Stevie Wonder, channels soulful joy, while “Mosh Pit,” inspired by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, unleashes the band’s explosive energy through Monder’s guitar and Waits’ dynamic drumming. “Vanguard” honors drummer Paul Motian, whose ethereal touch left a lasting mark on Sabbagh’s approach, and the closing track, “Unbowed,” salutes the ever-inspiring Kenny Barron.
Visually, Stand Up! is as striking as it sounds. The cover art by Italian photographer Michele Palazzo evokes a futuristic dystopia — light, reflection, and shadow suggesting tension between human creativity and the forces that constrain it. Sabbagh’s Analog Tone Factory, which he co-founded with Rende, stands as a statement against that coldness, recording exclusively to analog tape to preserve the authenticity and warmth of live performance. The band recorded Stand Up! live to two-track tape on a custom Ampex 351 recorder, engineered by James Farber and mastered in the analog domain by Bernie Grundman. The result is pure, human, and direct — a sonic experience as real as the music itself.
“Jazz is social music,” Sabbagh says. “We come up with ideas together that we wouldn’t find alone. That’s one of the great beauties of this art form.” Stand Up! captures that spirit — a testament to trust, connection, and the enduring power of sound made by people, for people.
2025 Tour Dates
Oct. 23 – Bar Bayeux, Brooklyn (Grassroots Jazz Effort: Adam Kolker, Jeremy Stratton, George Schuller)
Oct. 29 – Bar Bayeux, Brooklyn (Album Release: Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Ben Monder, Joe Martin, Kush Abadey)
Nov. 1 – The Django, NYC (Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Lawrence Fields, Joe Martin, Otis Brown III)
Nov. 7 – Bar Bayeux, Brooklyn (Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Simon Moullier, Joe Martin, E.J. Strickland)
Dec. 3 – Close-Up, New York (Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Ben Monder, Joe Martin, Kayvon Gordon)
Dec. 18 – Le Son la Terre, Paris (Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Jozef Dumoulin, Florent Nisse, Fabrice Moreau)
Dec. 19 – Le Son la Terre, Paris (Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Jozef Dumoulin, Florent Nisse, Fred Pasqua)
2026 Tour Dates
Jan. 12 – Smalls, NYC (French Jazz Quarter: Jerome Sabbagh Quartet – Ben Monder, Joe Martin, Nasheet Waits)
Feb. 18 – Sam First, Los Angeles (Jerome Sabbagh & Mark Turner with Jermaine Paul, Jonathan Pinson)
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