Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, producer and educator Adonis Rose returns to the forefront with Unusual Suspects, a deeply crafted and emotionally resonant new project featuring acclaimed New Orleans vocalist Phillip Manuel. Set for release February 27, 2026 on Moocha Music, the album is a masterclass in interpretive artistry, ensemble precision and Crescent City soul.
From its opening moments, Unusual Suspects establishes itself as a standout addition to the year’s jazz landscape. Rose, serving as drummer and producer, shapes an immersive sonic environment in which every nuance breathes. The arrangements—crafted by Manuel’s longtime collaborator and musical director Michael Pellera—are thoughtfully sculpted to honor the emotional core of each selection. The balance between voice and ensemble is meticulous, allowing Manuel’s signature phrasing and tonal warmth to glow while giving equal weight to the formidable musicians surrounding him.
The ensemble is nothing short of exceptional: Adonis Rose on drums and production; Phillip Manuel on vocals; Max Moran on bass; Seth Finch on piano and Fender Rhodes; Steve Masakowski on guitar; Ricardo Pascal on tenor and soprano saxophones; and Stephen Lands on trumpet. Each player operates at the height of their craft, contributing performances that elevate the recording beyond tribute or reinterpretation into something wholly renewed.
Manuel’s voice is arresting—rich, nuanced and deeply human. Comparisons may arise to Johnny Hartman or Andy Bey, but they serve merely as reference points. Manuel is unmistakably himself, delivering lyrics with emotional clarity and unforced authority. His timbre carries both velvet and steel, intimacy and expansiveness, tradition and individuality.
Recorded in the summer of 2025 at Artisound Studios in New Orleans, the album largely reimagines former instrumentals and jazz standards, now given original lyrics by Manuel. Lee Morgan’s “Party Time” receives a lyrical transformation, as does “The Unusual Suspects” by pianist Peter Martin. Guitarist Steve Masakowski’s “Sixth Ward Strut” steps into the spotlight with a vocal treatment, while compositions such as “The Road Less Traveled” and “I’ll Love You” by Joe Sample are reborn through Manuel’s interpretive lens.
Manuel and Pellera also contribute three original compositions, seamlessly woven into the repertoire. Adding further dimension, the sextet delivers a swinging and unexpectedly natural version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” alongside a soulful reading of Bill Withers’ “Hello Like Before.” In each case, the arrangements avoid novelty, instead uncovering melodic and harmonic possibilities that align organically with the album’s aesthetic.
To understand the depth behind this project is to understand Adonis Rose’s lineage. In New Orleans, music is inheritance as much as vocation, and Rose stands in a direct line of rhythmic tradition. He hails from two previous generations of Crescent City drummers: his grandfather Wilfred “Crip” Severin Jr. and his father Vernon Severin, both first-call, deeply influential figures in the local scene. His uncle, bassist Chris Severin, is equally woven into the city’s musical fabric. For Rose, music has never been separate from daily life; it is embedded in family gatherings, parades, church services, clubs, second lines and festival stages. Every note he plays carries that lived experience.
Rose’s career reflects both heritage and innovation. A Grammy Award winner with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for Best Large Ensemble, he has performed and recorded with an extraordinary roster of artists including Terence Blanchard, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. His performances have graced the world’s most revered stages, including Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, the Newport Jazz Festival and Jazz at Lincoln Center, among many others. With more than fifty recordings to his credit—five as a leader—and six collaborations with trumpeter Nicholas Payton, Rose’s artistic footprint is both broad and deeply respected.
In January 2017, Rose was named Artistic Director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, guiding the organization’s artistic vision and expanding its educational and community programming. Central to this growth is The Jazz Market, a 350-seat performance venue in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood that serves as the orchestra’s home and a vibrant cultural hub.
Phillip Manuel’s journey is equally rooted in New Orleans’ musical soil. Raised in a family where music was omnipresent—his father’s singing voice known to stop listeners in their tracks—Manuel has long been a fixture at clubs and festivals around the globe. He has shared stages with artists such as Terence Blanchard and Bill Summers, and his recorded output includes elegant interpretations of the Nat “King” Cole songbook as well as intimate readings that move fluidly from James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” to Ellington and Gershwin standards.
Rose and Manuel’s collaboration is not new; it is the culmination of years of mutual respect and shared vision. Manuel has appeared with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra at The Jazz Market and recorded with the ensemble on its Allen Toussaint tribute project. Rose has also performed on two of Manuel’s recordings. Their artistic chemistry is evident throughout Unusual Suspects, where rhythmic sophistication meets lyrical storytelling.
Notably, Manuel had been contemplating retirement from performance and recording. It was Rose who persuaded him to continue. The decision proves invaluable. Manuel’s artistry here feels renewed and urgent, as though the material carries the weight of lived experience sharpened by reflection. His lyric writing, in particular, transforms familiar instrumental works into deeply personal narratives, expanding the jazz vocal repertoire with intelligence and reverence.
Unusual Suspects is not merely a collection of reimagined standards; it is a testament to lineage, collaboration and artistic conviction. It affirms that jazz remains a living language—one capable of absorbing the past, conversing with the present and sounding entirely contemporary. With Rose’s masterful production and Manuel’s singular voice at its center, the album stands as both celebration and statement: New Orleans tradition, interpreted through modern vision, and delivered with uncompromising craft.
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