Kind of Now: How Gregory Hutchinson Reignites the Living Legacy of Miles Davis

“Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing,” Miles Davis once said—and that idea sits at the very heart of Kind of Now – The Pulse of Miles Davis. Recorded under the leadership of master drummer Gregory Hutchinson, hailed by Jazz Magazine as “the drummer of his generation,” this all-star tribute arrives at a perfect moment: the centenary of one of the most innovative, influential, and iconic figures in the history of music. Rather than looking backward, Kind of Now treats Miles’s legacy as a living, breathing force, one that still shapes how the music moves today.

Across ten bold reinterpretations of classic Miles repertoire, the album traces a wide arc—from bebop roots in the 1950s to the electric openness unleashed with Bitches Brew in 1970—while three original compositions by Hutchinson extend that lineage into the present. “This project is not about trying to recreate Miles,” Hutchinson says. “It’s about continuing that conversation he started.” Born just months after Bitches Brew was released, Hutch brings more than three decades of experience with a true Who’s Who of jazz, channeling not imitation but evolution. His drumming nods to the lineage of Miles’s great rhythmic architects—Kenny Clarke, Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, Al Foster—while speaking unmistakably in his own voice.

For Hutchinson, thinking about Miles’s drummers is really thinking about the evolution of the music itself. Each represented a chapter in Miles’s story, each reshaped how the music could feel. That philosophy animates Kind of Now, which swings fiercely when required and opens into modern, elastic space when the moment calls for it. As Christian McBride writes in the liner notes, there’s no shortage of Miles tribute records—but this one feels different.

The difference also lies in the band: a carefully chosen ensemble of young legends and modern lions, selected in the true Miles tradition. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire brings one of the most distinctive voices of the 21st century, honoring Miles not by copying him but by sounding unmistakably like himself. Guitarists Emmanuel Michael and Jakob Bro offer contrasting but complementary perspectives—Michael representing the next generation of voices Miles always sought, Bro painting with color, atmosphere, and space reminiscent of In a Silent Way. Saxophonist Ron Blake, a longtime collaborator of Hutchinson dating back to their Roy Hargrove days, anchors the frontline with depth and history. Pianist Gerald Clayton contributes an authoritative, forward-looking presence, while bassist Joe Sanders grounds everything with a time feel that breathes—rooted, expansive, and personal.

Together, these six musicians listen deeply, interact fearlessly, and explore familiar material in ways that invite fresh attention. Classics like “Ah-Leu-Cha,” “Seven Steps to Heaven,” and “Bitches Brew” are reimagined without leaning on the obvious, while Hutchinson’s drum interludes weave the program into a cohesive, forward-leaning statement. Kind of Now – The Pulse of Miles Davis doesn’t memorialize Miles Davis—it activates him, reminding us that his music was always about motion, risk, and now. Kind of now.