Celebrating Roy Haynes: Jazz Drumming Titan & Leader of the Hip Ensemble Remastered on Vinyl

Roy Haynes who passed away last November at age 99 is one of the undisputed giants of Jazz. Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1925, Haynes started drumming during his teenage years before moving to New York in 1945 where his career took off. He went on to play with the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Lester Young, becoming an institution over the decades. 

​In the late 60s, after a stint with the John Coltrane's quartet, he put together the Hip Ensemble, a small group featuring the young turks George Adams on sax, Hannibal Marvin Peterson on trumpet, Japanese bass player Teruo Nakamura, Lawrence Killian on percussion together with German pianist Carl Schroeder on Fender Rhodes.

Bob Shad, who had worked with Haynes in the 50s when he was running EmArcy, saw the group live in New York one night and decided to sign them on his label Mainstream Records as he was starting to produce jazz again after a few years releasing psychedelic rock. His idea was to plug into the new modal and jazz-funk scenes that was flourishing at the time and Haynes was also experimenting with.

​The album "Hip Ensemble" reflects this new direction with a superb mix of spiritual jazz, as heard on the rendition of Stanley Cowell's theme "Equipoise" (which had originally appeared on Max Roach's 1968 album "Members Don't Get Weary") or the more uptempo "Nothing Ever Changes For You My Love" both drenched in Schroeder's Fender Rhodes and showcasing gorgeous solos by Schroeder, George Adams and Marvin Peterson. Complementing the group for this session were Mervin Bronson, adding a touch of Fender bass and a second percussionist, Elwood Johnson.

Side two is even groovier with the relentless "Satan's Mysterious Feeling" followed by "You Name It," two compositions by George Adams fuelled by the Funky Drumming of Haynes in full flight, the ideal backbone for the players to lay out their inspired solos (including Haynes' explosive one).

Included is "Roy's Tune" as a bonus track which was recorded at the same session but not included on the original album - it briefly came out on a low-key Mainstream compilation two years after. The track is another fascinating breakbeat that has strangely never been sampled even if Roy Haynes' drums have appeared on many hip hop classics by De La Soul, Dilla, Pete Rock or Q Tip over the years. "Hip Ensemble" has been remastered for vinyl by Colorsound Studio in Paris and is a timely reminder that Haynes is one of the greatest jazz drummers of all times.

Bnnyhunna’s Debut Echoes of Prayer Arrives on Vinyl via Sdban Ultra — Edison Award Winner’s Spiritual Fusion Reborn in Physical Form

Out now on vinyl via Sdban Ultra, ECHOES OF PRAYER marks the debut album from Ghanaian-Dutch musician Bnnyhunna. Featuring standout singles like Communicate, Calm Waters and Silent Chaos, the record cements Bnnyhunna’s place as a rising artist in jazz and afro music.

Originally released digitally in October 2024, Echoes of Prayer stands as a deeply personal and spiritual work that reflects Bnnyhunna’s faith, his early experiences growing up in church, and his West African heritage. Every track on the album serves as a form of prayer, a conversation with God. The album showcases his ability to weave poetic lyrics, vivid visuals, and captivating melodies, creating an immersive experience that resonates on a spiritual and emotional level.

Bnnyhunna’s signature fusion of jazz, hip-hop, gospel, and Afro rhythms highlights his versatility and musical integrity. Next to the warm jazz textures of Calm Waters, the vibrant Afrobeat pulse of Communicate, and the soulful, piano-driven Silent Chaos, ECHOES OF PRAYER also blends elements of ‘70s P-Funk grooves, gospel harmonies, and modern hip-hop rhythms. Each song represents a different facet of Bnnyhunna’s artistic vision. Tracks like SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU carry nostalgic R&B undertones, while Sum Love brings gospel-infused choir arrangements that recall sacred spaces. Interludes such as Avanti add moments of intimacy and reflection through gentle guitar lines.

The album’s diverse sound is elevated by collaborations with The Cavemen., who lend their signature highlife revival, and Jembaa Groove, who contribute with West African-inspired rhythms.

With the vinyl release of ECHOES OF PRAYER, Bnnyhunna offers a tangible, collectible edition of his powerful debut. 

Bnnyhunna (Benjamin Ankomah) is an award winning Dutch/Ghanaian emerging artist who grew up in the South East part of Amsterdam. As his young life came with challenges he found his remedy by discovering the ultimate way to express himself through music. In church he learns to play piano, drums & guitar. Since then emerging, Bnny has cultivated a distinctive sound influenced by a diverse musical upbringing and legends like Fela Kuti, Yusef Dayes, Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams. Following his departure from high school, Bnnyhunna embarked on a music career, collaborating with notable artists such as Rimon, José James, Asake, Nnleg, Blue Lab Beats & Akwasi.

He takes on roles in writing, producing, and playing nearly all the instruments. His fusion of jazz, hip hop, R&B, and afro, influenced by his West-African background, coupled with a commitment to authenticity, has captured attention, establishing him as a rising star.

Bnnyhunna kicked off his solo career by sharing his unorthodox debut project ‘SINTHA’ (2021). With the fourtracker things developed fast; selling out his first headline show with Kokoroko as surprise act, worldwide support from platforms like Highsnobiety, VICE and Complex, playing at prestigious festivals like North Sea Jazz, Montreux Jazz Festival, Down The Rabbit Hole & Dekmantel and is touring Europe with his band.

In October 2024, Bnnyhunna released his highly anticipated debut album ‘ECHOES OF PRAYER’. The album was well received internationally with support by platforms such as 3voor12, Rolling Stone Africa and Afromixx. Moreover, it caught the attention on radio and streaming services: It aired on radio stations such as BBC 1, J-Wave, 3FM Netherlands and got added to playlists such as ‘BUTTER’, ‘Morning Rhythm’ and ‘Vanguard’. 

In 2025, Bnnyhunna won the prestigious Edison Pop Award in the category Soul/R&B/Funk with ‘ECHOES OF PRAYER’.

Theon Cross Announces New Live Album Affirmations: Live at Blue Note New York

Virtuoso New York, out July 11 via New Soil and Division 81. A striking live recording of a generational talent at the top of his game, Affirmations hears Cross join forces with Chicago saxophonist Isaiah Collier for a suite of unrestrained fire music, forged in the cauldron of the iconic NYC club - capturing the energy of Cross’ debut US show as one of just a handful to carry the Live at the Blue Note name. The album’s lead single, ‘Affirmations’ is available on all DSPs today.  

A staple of Theon Cross’ live shows, the album’s title track and lead single, ‘Affirmations’, appears on record for the first time. A bold and expansive composition that boils up and simmers down over 14 epic minutes of live-wire soloing and collective expression, it captures the essence and dynamic range of Cross’ broad, sophisticated sound. 

As Cross says, the track “speaks to the power of verbally and mentally affirming the things we wish to see for ourselves in our reality.” So for it to be released here first is a testament to its own success. 

A contemporary document of live improvisation at its most fertile and free, Affirmations: Live at Blue Note New York steps into - and updates - a lineage that has seen the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson record live at the Blue Note. 

Featuring a line-up that blends the best of London and Chicago talent, Cross is joined by rapidly rising saxophonist Isaiah Collier, whose albums Parallel Universe (2023, Night Dreamer), The Almighty (2024, Division 81), and The World is On Fire (2024, Division 81) garnered widespread acclaim in The New York Times, NPR, DownBeat, and more. Rounding out the ensemble is Collier’s drummer James Russell Sims and London-based guitarist Nikos Ziarkas (Chelsea Carmichael, Ron Trent, Moses Boyd), who has been close with Cross for several years. 

While honouring the likes of John Coltrane’s Live at the Village Gate and Sonny Rollins’ Live at the Village Vanguard – from which Cross once transcribed all the bass solos to play on tuba – Affirmations arrives with a modern twist, structured like a DJ set to take listeners on a distinct and unique sonic journey.

Spliced with improvisations devised on the fly, the record’s 12 tracks features music from Cross’ 2019 album FYAH (Gearbox Records) and 2021’s INTRA – I (New Soil), as well as 2022’s ‘Wings’ previously released as 7” single with his version of Aswad’s  ‘Back to Africa’ on the B side.

Since the release of his previous album three and half years ago, Cross has established himself as a consummate, versatile collaborator, working with Jon Baptiste, hip-hop royalty Common, and everyone from Ravi Coltrane and Makaya McCraven to Little Simz, The Smile and Stormzy.

There is nowhere more iconic than the Blue Note in NYC for Theon Cross to make his return to center stage.

Rico Jones Makes Powerful NYC Leader Debut with BloodLines—A Spiritual and Cultural Jazz Statement

With BloodLines, Giant Steps Arts introduces a compelling new compositional voice, Colorado-native tenor saxophonist Rico Jones. The album is his New York City leader debut and features a multi-generation band of peer guitarist Max Light and two veterans in bassist Joe Martin and drummer Nasheet Waits. 

In his budding career, Jones has already accomplished much. He has won the Vandoren and Yamaha Emerging Artist Competitions and Manhattan School of Music’s William H. Borden Award for Outstanding Achievement and was selected to participate in both the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program at the Kennedy Center and the JAS Aspen Workshop. During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, Jones won numerous DownBeat Magazine awards for his ensembles, including jazz soloist. In 2024, he co-led—with creator Julia Keefe—the first-ever all-Indigenous big band, a project he helped initiate in 2022, and later appeared at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival with Esperanza Spalding. That same year, he was invited by Spalding to appear as a special guest for two nights at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York. Jones has been mentored by David Kikoski, Bennie Maupin, Charles McPherson, Bobby Watson, Eric Wyatt, and George Coleman, and studied under Vincent Herring, Buster Williams, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, and Miguel Zenón. 

Critical to Jones as a musician is his multicultural heritage. “The Latino and Indigenous perspectives have always been a part of my life. I saw much of those cultural expressions in my mother and extended family, the art in my home and the food I ate growing up,” he says. “My ancestry can be traced back to the Manso people who lived from New Mexico to Juarez Mexico.” Furthermore, Jones has absorbed the traditions of African-Americans both through his love of jazz legends like Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Wardell Gray, Lester Young and others and by playing music in his youth each Sunday in a predominantly Black Catholic Church. 

BloodLines, recorded live at Brooklyn’s Ornithology in August 2024, is, as the title clearly implies, a deeply personal album, comprising original compositions but also Jones’ decision to have the performance begin with the five sections of "Bloodlines: Suite of the Omnipotent and Eternal Spirit," the preposition "of" rather than "for" emphasizing how each piece is part of a larger whole. As well, Jones says, “Film and its accompanying scores have been a deep source of inspiration for me. I love the emotional weight that the great melodies in film carry,” he says. “Just as films transport the audience, I hope the music connects people to a musical narrative, a singular expression of the divine seen through different lenses—my ancestors, my departed friends, my creativity, and my lived experience.”   

The opening “Invocation,” a brief group improvisation symbolizes what Jones says is “the act of calling upon divine spiritual powers when entering a state of prayer.” Other pieces speak to the divine and the universe we inhabit, particularly the last three: “Across Time,” “The Moment” and “The Voice of God Shines Brightly On My Heart.” The first percolates not only with movement but also perspective; the second’s introspective quality recalls “points in life when I experience true clarity about the nature of all things”; and the third acts as an impassioned bookend to “Invocation,” an “acknowledgment of the divine creator of all life and reality. I can only speak to my own connection to the creative spirit as an unquenchable source of joy, hope, and creativity.” 

Other pieces celebrate important people in Jones’ life, from a deceased friend beautifully memorialized in “Lone Wolf” to his treasured great-grandmother, whose stateliness and resolve is captured with ““Queen Isabelle.” No matter the source material Jones’ gorgeous tone is on display throughout, his playing with a sense of purpose and understanding of restraint belying his youth. 

Crucial to the success of Jones’ vision is his band, which Jones says reflects that “the beauty of music is that it is a cultural, traditional, and aural art form. It is inherently cross-generational. This ensemble is an example of the age-old tradition of multigenerational exchange in the musical arts.” Jones has known Light the longest and worked with him the most, the guitarist’s his absolute first choice for the album and someone who brings “a high level of enthusiasm and creativity”. Martin and Waits he had first appreciated as a listener and thus was eager to collaborate with both for this project: “Their wisdom and experience add a level of creative musical power that both inspires and guides Max and me in ways we might not otherwise encounter.”

All albums are biographical in some way, reflecting the spirit of the musician who created it but BloodLines is particularly so. Jones has the rare ability to communicate on myriad levels with the audience and make the act of listening a richly expansive occurrence. "This music marks a rite of passage for me—a convergence of years of prayer, dreams, and hard work coming into focus," he says. "It’s part of my journey from Colorado to New York, but also an attempt to invoke the presence of God in my playing, to remember those I love who have passed, and to honor the voices that helped nurture both my faith and my creativity." 

BloodLines is the latest entry in Giant Step’s Modern Masters and New Horizon series. Specially curated by trumpeter Jason Palmer and drummer Nasheet Waits, the series features artists who have helped shape the modern jazz landscape along with rising voices doing the same for the next generation. Artists currently slated to contribute include saxophonists Mark Turner, Neta Raanan, drummer Eric McPherson and the Edward Pérez/Michael Thomas Band.

Pasquale Grasso Unveils Solo Be-Bop! – A Daring, Virtuosic Tribute to Bebop’s Piano Legends

While in the studio wrapping up sessions for the Fervency Trio album, something unexpected happened. Guitarist Pasquale Grasso found himself with two extra days booked and no fixed plan. At the suggestion of his producer, Grasso did what true artists do when inspiration strikes—he picked up his guitar and started to play. The result is Solo Be-Bop!, a spontaneous yet stunning solo guitar album that honors the spirit, soul, and sophistication of bebop’s greatest pianists. The album is available now. [Listen Here]

Grasso, who was raised in the Italian countryside, grew up immersed in the complex language of jazz piano—not guitar. He studied the left-hand stride and right-hand dazzle of Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Fats Waller, and Earl Hines. These were his heroes. And on Solo Be-Bop!, he brings their influence to life in a dazzling display of unaccompanied six-string mastery.

“Whether you’re alone or in a band, you’re supposed to swing by yourself anyway if you want to play this music,” Grasso says.

And swing he does.

One of the album’s standouts is Grasso’s electrifying version of Charlie Parker’s “Chasin’ the Bird.” He treats the bebop classic as a technical étude, pushing the independence of all his fingers beyond the standard limits of guitar technique.

“This song helped me a lot to achieve independence between all my fingers,” he explains. “Not an easy task, but very rewarding.”

Equally impressive is his take on “Salt Peanuts,” a tune he usually performs with his trio. Here, it bursts with rhythmic life, proving that a single guitar can groove with the firepower of an entire rhythm section.

Throughout the album, Grasso sprinkles in heartfelt tributes to the mentors and memories that shaped him:

• “Stella by Starlight” reflects his time studying with legendary pianist Barry Harris.

• “Pannonica” is a loving nod to his mother’s favorite Thelonious Monk ballad.

• “Time Waits” captures the quiet ache of homesickness and family ties.

• “Sid’s Delight” reimagines the 1949 original arrangement featuring trumpeter Fats Navarro.

Grasso also ventures into more obscure bebop territory, including Bud Powell’s “Monopoly” (which he rhythmically reshapes) and Elmo Hope’s “Stars Over Marrakech,” where he masterfully alternates bass lines with chordal melodies.

“With Solo Be-Bop!,” Grasso doesn’t just reinterpret these pieces—he inhabits them fully,” the liner notes say. “This is bebop guitar at its most exposed and expressive: a masterful conversation between past and present, with no one else in the room.”

Solo Be-Bop! – Tracklist

1. Chasin' the Bird

2. Salt Peanuts

3. Sid's Delight

4. Time Waits

5. Manhattan

6. Monopoly

7. Stars Over Marrakech

8. Stella by Starlight

9. Happy Hour

10. Sure Thing

11. Pannonica

12. Yeheadeadeadee

Born in Ariano Irpino in Italy’s Campania region, Grasso was surrounded by a rich jazz culture. Festivals like Umbria Jazz introduced him to global sounds, but his deeper education came through hands-on mentorships—with Agostino Di Giorgio and, most pivotally, Barry Harris. His journey eventually led him to New York City in 2012, a city he calls the true heart of jazz.

“Every recording I like was made in New York City,” Grasso says. “I always wanted to come here.”

Though initially out of step with modern jazz trends in Europe, Grasso’s passion for the bebop tradition has recently found new relevance. He credits much of this revival to his collaboration with multi-Grammy winner Samara Joy, whom he met when she was just 16. Grasso toured and recorded with Joy, appearing on both her self-titled debut and 2022’s Linger Awhile.

Grasso’s musical language is shaped more by pianists and horn players than fellow guitarists. His early listening diet consisted heavily of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie—so much so that his father once hoped he’d play trumpet instead. He did pick up the trumpet briefly but ultimately found his true voice on guitar.

“I was just trying to imitate whatever I would hear,” he laughs. “I have a perfect pitch. That’s what God gave me.”

It was jazz guitar icon Pat Metheny who offered one of the highest compliments. In a 2016 Vintage Guitar interview, Metheny called Grasso “the best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my life.”

Grasso is a fixture on the New York City jazz scene, regularly performing at Birdland, Mezzrow, Saint Tuesday, and Tartina. He’ll also appear at multiple festivals across the summer of 2025. For dates and updates, check his official calendar.

Lafayette Gilchrist & New Volcanoes Return with Live Album Move With Love

Baltimore-based pianist, keyboardist and composer Lafayette Gilchrist reconvenes his hip-hop, funk and go-go fueled ensemble New Volcanoes for the exuberant Move With Love, the acclaimed band’s first release in seven years. While the title captures the infectious, joyous, groove-heavy sound that New Volcanoes has honed over the last two decades, it’s also a plea for community during turbulent times. 

“We need to move with love,” Gilchrist insists, “because the whole world seems to be moving in the opposite direction. The only way to move towards the future is with humanity, with compassion, with care – with love.” 

Out July 25, 2025 via Morphius Records, Move With Love arrives as Gilchrist embarks on a new chapter in his career, as he joins the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra in the piano chair inaugurated by the ensemble’s iconic namesake. The wide-ranging palette of the Arkestra, whose orbit pulls in influences from the earliest eras of jazz to the cutting edge of the avant-garde and beams it back to Earth through a dazzling Afrofuturist lens, seems a perfect fit for the eclectic tastes of Gilchrist. Though all of his music is informed by hip-hop and the D.C.-born go-go style, it manifests in different ways depending on the band that the keyboardist channels it through. With his quintet, the Sonic Trip Masters, Gilchrist hews closer to a traditional acoustic jazz sound, while the more expansive New Volcanoes delves deeper into his funky, groove-oriented side in the form of a combustible nonet. 

On the band’s first album since 2018’s Deep Dancing Suite, Gilchrist unveils a retooled New Volcanoes on Move With Love. Guitarist Carl Filipiak and bassist Anthony “Blue” Jenkins return from the previous incarnation, while percussionist Kevin Pinder transitions onto the drum kit. They’re joined by trumpeter Leo Maxey, trombonist Christian Hizon and saxophonists Shaquim Muldrow, Ebban Dorsey and Efraim Dorsey, with guest percussionist Bashi Rose joining for four of the album’s six tracks. The album captures a rollicking live set on home turf at Baltimore’s Club Car, in the room that had previously housed the Windup Space. 

The venue itself is indicative of Gilchrist’s message on Move With Love. While the Windup Space had been a headquarters for jazz and experimental music in the city, the Club Car is a “queer venue and cocktail bar” whose calendar typically features drag and burlesque performances. When the opportunity to perform there arose, Gilchrist was unsure if the New Volcanoes would be a good fit for the new focus. 

“I didn’t know if the audience would show up for jazz,” Gilchrist recalls. “I thought they might be expecting more of a house music or disco thing, something more upbeat than what I’m doing, and the jazz audience can tend to be more conservative. But the new owners insisted it would work, and I realized that the New Volcanoes had never really attracted the straightahead jazz audience anyway. It ended up being a great night and the energy was amazing, so we decided to put it out.” 

Move With Love is infused with both the energy of that evening and the urgency of the moment we’re living through. “We’ve got to look out for each other and sincerely care about each other,” Gilchrist elaborates. “Love is more than a fuzzy feeling. Love is a consistency. Love is a justice. Love is a reciprocity. Love is a giving. There’s a lot in that four-letter word, l-o-v-e. But we're moving another way.”

The resolute “Cut Through the Chase” opens the album with a street-level anthem for the country’s working people, a population that Gilchrist knows well, hailing from as notoriously gritty an urban center as Baltimore. “That's about the struggle of every day folk,” the composer explains. “They say for poor folk, every day is an emergency. But the music doesn’t mirror the drudgery of everyday existence, because it’s all the more reason to celebrate being alive. You need the release, you need the release to be real, and you need it to be beautiful.” 

The buoyant title track, co-written with Pinder, is followed by “Bamboozled,” a stealthy tune whose sly groove hints at the gaslighting perpetrated by the political class. Carl Filipiak’s Sicilian heritage provided the title of “BASTA,” an Italian interjection meaning, “Enough!” That command lends the album’s most go-go inflected track its ferocious spine. The lurching “Baby Steps” allows that progress can be slow moving while reflecting the innocence of the young people that Gilchrist sees on their way to school, “still just learning the world. The world is not some awful place to them. It's still a place of wonder and potential.” 

The album closes with “Crosspollination Aggregation,” which pays tribute to the paths that crossed in the audience that evening at the Club Car, a model for the love movement that Gilchrist hopes to inspire with his music. “In the mass media and on social media, we're invisible,” he says of the like-minded community he counts himself a part of. “But out here on the ground, we’re all around. Love definitely has that power to eventually build up to the point where it's an undeniable force. It's hard to have faith sometimes because we've never lived in an age where that's prevailed, but history is an ever-current event. We can change humanity's destiny.”

Lafayette Gilchrist's music has graced the soundtracks of David Simon’s acclaimed series The Wire, The Deuce & Treme. It draws on the span of jazz history from stride to free improv, with inspiration from hip-hop, funk and D.C. go-go, making surprising connections between styles, boldly veering from piledriver funk to piquant stride, vigorous swing to hip-hop swagger, abstraction to deep-bottom grooves. The Baltimore-based pianist, keyboardist and composer leads his own bands, New Volcanoes and Sonic Trip Masters, and is a member of the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra under the leadership of centenarian Maestro Marshall Allen. He is also a longtime collaborator of saxophone great David Murray, including a lengthy tenure in his quartet.

Blue Note’s Openness Trio Debut: A Sonic Journey Through L.A.’s Hidden Gems

Blue Note Records has announced the July 11 release of Openness Trio, the debut album from an extraordinary new collective featuring guitarist/producer Nate Mercereau, saxophonist Josh Johnson, and percussionist Carlos Niño. This inspired trio—each with deep roots in jazz, hip‑hop, and avant‑garde scenes—has collaborated with luminaries such as André 3000, Meshell Ndegeocello, Kamasi Washington, Shabaka, Jeff Parker, and Makaya McCraven 

Openness Trio is a beautifully curated collection of five tracks recorded across diverse and atmospheric Los Angeles and Ventura County locations. The sessions took place among the hills of Ojai overlooking the Topatopa Mountains, in a cozy Elysian Park living room, beneath an oak‑tree cathedral at Churchill Orchard, in the Garden of Electronics courtyard in Echo Park, and shining under a pepper tree at Elsewhere in Topanga Canyon . The enchanting lead track, “Hawk Dreams,” is already available to listen to now.

The trio’s name is as much a statement as it is a label. Mercereau describes “openness” as the essence of their dynamic:

“Listening, Immersive Emoting, Deep Communication, Discovery, Trust, Exploration, and arriving to the moment…” 

Niño echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the “totally psychic communication” and nourishment that openness brings to their music. Johnson reflects on a transformative session in Ojai, recalling that day as when “the trio became 3D… soaring from the start” 

Each track on Openness Trio captures a unique moment in space and time, giving listeners an immersive experience that intertwines the physical beauty of Southern California with the trio’s deep musical bond. Expect an album that not only celebrates collective creativity but also invites you into the very heart of their collaboration—raw, intuitive, and beautifully open.

Mark your calendars for July 11 and dive into a fresh, boundary-defying chapter of modern jazz.

Paul Cornish Announces Debut Trio Album You’re Exaggerating! Out August 22 on Blue Note

Pianist Paul Cornish is gearing up to release his much-anticipated debut album, You’re Exaggerating!, arriving August 22 via Blue Note Records This nine‑song collection of Cornish originals features a dynamic trio: Cornish on piano, Joshua Crumbly on bass, and Jonathan Pinson on drums, with a special guest spot from guitarist Jeff Parker.
The album is led by the vibrant single “Dinosaur Song” and is now available for pre-order in multiple formats—exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and digital download—through the Blue Note Store 

Alongside the album announcement, Cornish has unveiled a comprehensive U.S. and European tour schedule. Notable shows include Los Angeles (Jazz Bakery, June 13), London (Ronnie Scott’s, Aug 25), New York (Dizzy’s, Aug 28), and Paris (Duc des Lombards, Nov 26), among many others—visit paulcornishmusic.com for full details.

Recording for Blue Note places Cornish among a lineage of piano greats—Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Jason Moran, and Robert Glasper  A Houston native and HSPVA alumnus, Cornish carries forward the legacy of fellow Texans like Moran, Glasper, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave, and James Francies 

Cornish sees himself as part of Blue Note’s “regenerative influence”—extending the lineage begun by Jason Moran and Robert Glasper. “Those early Robert Glasper records…were my first window into this legacy I’m part of…With each one of us, it evolves and expands,” he explains.

His compositions on You’re Exaggerating! draw from personal memories and reflections, delivering “even‑keeled texture and shrewd harmony” that invite listeners into a thoughtful and resonant musical journey.

Praise from peers like Glasper underscores Cornish’s position as a modern torch-bearer:

“Continuing the legendary lineage of Houston pianists while still carving out your own lane…Understanding the history but not being held back by the history…there is no history without the now.” 

You’re Exaggerating! is shaping up to be a defining statement from Blue Note’s next generation—a thoughtful, lyrical, and forward-looking debut that honors its roots while stepping boldly into the future. Don’t miss the lead single, reserve your pre-order, and catch Paul Cornish live this year!

Chick Corea’s “The Visitors” — A 12-Minute Masterpiece for Burton & Gerstein Released on His 84th Birthday

Chick Corea wrote The Visitors specifically for Gary Burton and Kirill Gerstein – two masters of their instruments and in their respective fields. The 12-minute piece blends classical and jazz languages seamlessly: some sections are fully written-out, others partially improvised, and others again entirely open to the interpreters’ in-the-moment inspiration. Vibraphone and piano conspire in graceful interplay throughout, navigating rowdy ostinatos and subtle counterpoint in the process. Commissioned by Kirill Gerstein with support from his Gilmore Artist Award, and co-commissioned by Berklee College of Music, The Visitors was premiered by Burton and Gerstein at the 2012 Gilmore International Piano Festival. Gerstein and Burton only recently rediscovered this recording of that premiere, subsequent to which Manfred Eicher and Gerstein mixed the piece in Munich, in Spring 2025. Released as a digital single only, The Visitors appears on the occasion of what would have been Chick Corea’s 84th birthday, on June 12. Kirill Gerstein: “With Chick no longer with us, and Gary now retired, this is a singular document—both musically and personally meaningful”

‘Composing this duet piece for Kirill and Gary was a happy challenge. To have a pianist of Kirill's accomplishment play my written piano notes inspired me to compose. I thank him for the opportunity. The Visitors is constructed in small sections with a final section that vamps, jazz-style, over a piano ostinato. I wrote it so that there would always be a choice of whether to play the written notes exactly as written or play variations of the phrasings. I conjured encounters with unfamiliar phenomena and wrote a kind of "soundtrack" to that idea. Of course, one could also think of it as their "next door neighbors". These concepts are always open for wide interpretation. Here's to freedom in music."

— Chick Corea - March, 2012

Zaimie’s Black Velvet: A Smooth Sonic Mosaic of Jazz, Soul, and Global Groove

With their long-awaited album Black Velvet, Scottish-based ensemble Zaimie delivers a vibrant, genre-defying journey through lush jazz harmonies, deep funk rhythms, and heartfelt soul vocals—all polished with a global sensibility. Released on May 23, 2025, the album marks a bold step forward for the band following the success of their standout single “Feel The Rush.”

Anchored by the creative duo Zaidi Kiggundu and Jamie McShane, Black Velvet is a meticulously crafted album recorded at the Sugar Shack studio in Carluke, Scotland. The 11-track set includes contributions from vocalist Suzy Duffy, who adds emotional depth to three of the album’s most poignant cuts: the uplifting opener “New Life,” the irresistibly groovy “Can’t Do Without It,” and the heartfelt ballad “I Need You.”

Instrumentally, the album is a masterclass in modern production and live musicianship. Kiggundu handles keyboards, bass, and guitar, while McShane lays down crisp drum programming and additional basslines. Horn arrangements—elegant and punchy—are the work of Kiggundu, McShane, Ewan Mains (trumpet/flugelhorn), and James Steele (tenor & baritone saxophone), giving the album its signature cinematic flair.

From the smooth sensuality of the title track “Black Velvet” to the breezy funk of “Weekend Breeze” and the energetic anthem “Top Of It,” the album radiates intention and polish. The lyrical themes explore love, longing, transformation, and the inner rhythm of city nights—songs that connect both on the dance floor and in more reflective moments.

With artwork by Al Kent and released via Splash Music Productions, Black Velvet is more than just an album—it’s a statement. It’s Zaimie in full bloom, proving that their genre-blending identity is no passing phase but a mature, resonant musical voice worth turning up loud.

Tracklist Highlights:

1. New Life (ft. Suzy Duffy) – A soulful, optimistic opener.

2. Black Velvet – A sultry, funk-infused title track.

3. State of Mind – A moody, late-night jazz number with swagger.

4. Feel The Rush – The high-energy single that started it all.

5. In Too Deep – A haunting closer with layered vocal textures.

Whether you’re after sophisticated soul, groove-heavy funk, or smooth jazz to soundtrack your next sunset, Black Velvet is the experience you didn’t know you were waiting for.

Sarah Wilson Ignites Community Euphoria with Brass Tonic’s New Album “Incandescence”

Community spirit has been a constant in the work of composer and trumpet player Sarah Wilson, whose experiences and inspirations have ranged from socially conscious puppet theater to brass band and New Orleans traditions to her own illuminating style of jazz. When musicians are truly inspired and connected with one another, Wilson describes, time seems to stand still for artist and listener alike.  

“Time just evaporates,” Wilson says, “and you’re completely immersed in feeling the euphoria and joy of being in this creative moment. You forget everything else that is happening in space and time, while paradoxically the music is moving through time.”

During a 2023 artist residency in Krems, Austria, the Bay Area-based Wilson experienced a similar epiphany when she encountered the paintings of Viennese artist Thomas Reinhold. One of the founding figures of German “New Painting” or “Junge Wilde,” Reinhold’s large-scale work combines architectural planning with the chance effects of time. Wilson’s reaction to the paintings inspired the music on Incandescence, the joy-fueled new album by her sextet Brass Tonic. 

Out July 18, 2025 via Wilson’s own Brass Tonic Records and co-produced by Wilson and Grammy Award-winning producer Hans Wendl, Incandescence was commissioned by InterMusic SF’s Musical Grant Program. It draws equal inspiration from Reinhold’s bold, multi-hued abstracts and from the street-level, community-spirited traditions of brass band, marching and New Orleans parade music. In Brass Tonic, Wilson combines an all-woman horn frontline – herself, alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen, and trombonist Mara Fox – with the buoyant rhythm section of guitarist John Schott, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and, for this recording, drummers Jon Arkin and Tim Bulkley.

Brass Tonic played its first gig in 2022, but the seeds for the band were planted more than 20 years before, when Wilson performed with and composed for NYC drummer Kenny Wollesen’s protest-minded marching jazz band, Himalayas. Or perhaps even earlier, when she toured the world playing music with Vermont’s politically radical and community-oriented Bread & Puppet Theater during the 1990s. “Coming from that background of street theater and traditional New Orleans music, my music is always something that you can dance to,” Wilson explains. “Marching band music has to be simple, but I wanted to hone it into more developed music with a similar vibe.”

Stemming in part from the socially conscious aspects of those earlier projects as well as her experience in ensembles like the Montclair Women’s Big Band, Wilson was determined to forefront women in her new sextet. “I wanted to be intentional about that,” she insists. “It feels empowering to have a majority of women in the band, and in particular to have all women horn players. That's one area in classical and jazz music, where there's a bit of a lag in terms of equity.”

Earlier music for the band was written in 2022 during Wilson’s time at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in Woodside, California. Through that connection, she traveled to Austria for the AIR-Artist in Residence Niederösterreich, through which she was given free rein to explore the arts-rich town of Krems, 50 miles outside of Vienna. There she found Reinhold’s work in the State Gallery of Lower Austria. “These incredible paintings just looked like music to me,” Wilson says.

Wilson has a history of composing music in response to visual art. In 2011-12 she was an artist fellow at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, where she collaborated on a music and aerial dance performance inspired by the Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas. “She Stands in a Room,” one of the pieces on Wilson’s 2010 album Trapeze Project, drew from a sculpture by Nicolas Africano in the de Young’s collection.

At the State Gallery of Lower Austria, Wilson was given the unique opportunity to set up a mobile studio in the gallery, allowing her to write music in real time while interacting directly with the paintings. The residency also connected her with the artist himself, facilitating a trip to Reinhold’s studio to discuss his artistic methodology – including his love of John Coltrane’s music. “His process is based on a space time modality,” Wilson relates. “He imagines everything he's going to paint and sketches it out, which is very architectural. Then he layers coats of paint, goes off and lets it dry, and returns later to paint more layers – meaning that he's dealing with elements created in a different space and time.” 

Three of the compositions on Incandescence – “Architecture in Space,” “Music Appears to Stand Still,” and “Echoes Refrain” – resulted from Wilson’s Austrian residency. But they share with the remainder of the album’s songs a bright, iridescent sense of joy and ebullience encapsulated in the album’s title. 

“When you have visceral, powerful experience with art or music, that is the essence of joy for me,” Wilson concludes. “I really respond to that ability for music to evoke strong feelings. That’s what I really wanted to happen with this project. I want people to feel good and to have that experience of joy.”

Saul Dautch's 'Music for the People' Elevates the Baritone Sax in a Stirring Jazz Debut

SAUL DAUTCH jokes that playing the baritone sax is a dirty job, but someone has to do it. The good news is, he does it so well. Now, the composer and arranger is releasing his debut album, MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE, a collection of seven original compositions and one rarely recorded number by Duke Pearson.

Although the baritone sax is a demanding instrument, Dautch’s prowess has led to gigs with many world-class big bands, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Robert Edwards Big Band, John Yao and his 17-Piece Instrument, the Orlando Jazz Orchestra, Bill O’Connell’s Afro Caribbean Ensemble, and many more. He has also been a featured soloist on several albums by the Flying Horse Big Band at the University of Central Florida, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree. He then went on to earn a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey. After completing his degree, Dauch decamped to Brooklyn where he works as a freelance musician, educator, composer/arranger and soloist.

Dautch returned to UCF in 2024 to temporarily lead the Flying Horse Big Band to fill in for Jeff Rupert, the Director of Jazz Studies, who is on sabbatical. Dautch will be returning to Brooklyn soon.

Dautch discovered his affinity for the baritone sax and other lower range instruments when he was just 15 years old. He says, “My family isn’t particularly musical, but friends turned me on to jazz when I was very young. Unlike most of the other young musicians, I always felt I found my own voice on the bari rather than the tenor or alto. It was important to me to find my own specific sound, and I guess others heard it too, because soon everyone started telling me I was a bari player. It was niche I just sort of fell into, but it suited me well.”

Dautch hails from Delray Beach, Florida, where his musical journey began at the International Baccalaureate program at Atlantic Community High School. While in high school, he attended a jazz summer camp, where he met Mike Brignola, the great baritone sax player who led the Woody Herman Band. Brignola was impressed with Dautch’s playing and took him on as a private student.

Joining Dautch on this album are some younger, top-notch, New York-based players, including trumpeter NOAH HALPERN (Wynton Marsalis, Jason Moran, Ulysses Owens, Lalah Hathaway), pianist MIKI YAMANAKA (Antonio Hart, Harish Raghavan Quintet, The Mingus Big Band), bass player LOUIE LEAGER (Rodney Whitaker, Roy Hargrove, Brian Lynch), and drummer HANK ALLEN-BARFIELD (Samara Joy, Emmet Cohen, Vincent Herring, Mike LeDonne).

Dautch wrote most of the music for this album during the Covid lockdown, when he kept his chops up by busking in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The album reflects the challenges and growth he experienced in his first five years in the city.

Dautch is acutely aware of all the support he received from his teachers and mentors along the way, and dedicates the album to them. The “People” in the album title refers to all the people who have helped him through the years -- the people he played for in the park, and all the musicians and friends who enrich his life.

The music on MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE is composed in a range of styles, but all the compositions are firmly rooted in jazz. Dautch opens the album with “Hello Bright Sunflower,” by Duke Pearson. Pepper Adams, the great baritone saxophonist, is one of his major influences, and this cheerful number was originally performed by the Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams quintet in 1962. Dautch’s version is a nod to that legendary baritone saxophone/trumpet duo.

Dautch began composing “Nighttime on the Red Line” on the subway late at night when he was returning home to Brooklyn after a jam session at Smalls in Manhattan. For Dautch, this composition brings to mind the sounds, sights, and even the smells of New York City. Dautch has two, frisky Bengal cats named after Norse Gods, Odin and Freya. He wrote “Odious Din,” which means a very unpleasant noise, for his very vocal and often destructive cat. The band gainsays the cat’s harsh sound by creating a more joyful noise.

Dautch wrote “Grateful” for his father who passed away far too young in 2019. Dautch says, “Without him I would not be the man I am today, and I owe a lot of my musical taste to him. His favorite band was the Grateful Dead, and while this song isn’t really reminiscent of their music, I thought a nice double entendre for the title would be fitting.” Dautch wrote “L’Chaim” shortly after learning of the unexpected passing of a close cousin who was an advocate for Jews around the world. He always wore a signature hat with a Chai (Hebrew word for life) on it.

Dautch was prompted to write “The Guru” by one of his teachers, Dr. Anthony Branker, during his graduate studies at Rutgers. Dautch says, “His teaching style empowered me to make some unique harmonic choices, and I feel like it allowed me to write differently thank my usual voice. The vibe of this one sounds like a Wayne Shorter tune. I dedicate this one to all of my mentors along my musical journey.”

Dautch is a fan of Japanese anime, and “The Climbing Silver” refers to a sacrifice made by one of his favorite anime characters. Dautch had the work of Eddie Harris and Roy Hargrove in mind when he was writing the tune. Dautch wrote “Bacher’s Batch” to honor the wonderful memories he made at summer jazz camps in South Florida where he grew up. One of his first mentors was a guitarist and educator named Neil Bacher, and his ensemble at the camp was known as Bacher‘s Batch. It was where he discovered and began fostering his true love for jazz.

Saul Dautch is still a young man who, considering his talents as a musician and a composer, is destined to make his mark in the jazz world. Backed by a band of equally talented players, Dautch’s melodic baritone stylings and warm sound, as well as his hip, catchy compositions, make MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE an outstanding introduction for this rising jazz star.

 

Fuubutsushi Share “Light in the Annex,” a Raw, Exploratory Cut from Their First-Ever Live Set — Columbia Deluxe

Today, acclaimed ambient-jazz quartet Fuubutsushi share “Light in the Annex,” the second preview from Columbia Deluxe, their forthcoming album documenting the project’s first and only live performance—out July 11 via American Dreams. Formed as a remote collaboration during lockdown between four prolific, far-flung multi-instrumentalists—Patrick Shiroishi (The Armed, Wild Up), Chris Jusell (Rosalía, Lizzo, Silk Sonic), Chaz Prymek (Lake Mary), and Matthew Sage (Shabason, Krgovich, Sage)—the track offers another vivid glimpse of Fuubutsushi at their most exploratory and present, charged with the unpredictability of a debut performance.

On the newly released track, Fuubutushi share: "This was a really fun and rare opportunity for us to play a song live before releasing a recording. We were just starting to put together ideas for what would become Meridians, and “Light in the Annex” was an early contender. This version feels a little more wiley compared to the studio/album version. We find some pockets where we can really push moments of disorder or tension and release, which was certainly part of the experience for everyone—anticipation, tension, wonder, relief, and joy all mixed together."

“The music of Fuubutsushi,” Prymek says, “started as a recording project that turned into deep friendships.” After composing music remotely for their acclaimed cycle of four albums for each of the four seasons, the quartet transformed the music in concert at the Columbia Experimental Music Festival: Shiroishi on saxophones and field recordings, Jusell on violin, Sage on piano and synthesizer, and Prymek on guitar and bass, sharing bells, voice and electronics as a group. “I think we were all pretty nervous about it,” says Shiroishi, “but the audience was with us the entire time and really gave us an incredible amount of energy.” “Part of the thrill,” says Sage, “was that we knew the songs separately, kind of on our own terms. And how it felt to finally turn this music, which we made in such a physically isolated way, to finally come into being in person, for a really receptive audience in a really beautiful room.”

“Now,” says Prymek, “what you hear out of us is that energy spilling back into our music.” It flows seamlessly from one song to the next, giving the band room to range while maintaining structure. “Bolted Orange” runs just over three minutes on the band’s self-titled debut album: here the band expands it to ten, blossoming, like the first half of the album, around Prymek’s winding, circular guitar lines. Guitar introduces that song and “Shepherd’s Stroll,” followed by declarative piano from Sage. Saxophone and violin either outline the chordal instruments’ color or push them in new directions. In keeping with past releases, the band incorporates field recordings of Japanese Americans talking about their experience in American internment camps during WWII into the music, inviting listeners to confront the past, present and future.

 

John Stein Revisits a Hidden Gem of Jazz Camaraderie with “Among Friends” — His 20th Album, Decades in the Making

In 1997, just two years after the versatile guitarist JOHN STEIN launched his extraordinary three-decade career as a recording artist, he invited cellist CHRIS WHITE and vocalist FAY WHITTAKER to his home for a spirited, live session in his living room. Stein borrowed a DAT recorder, mixer, and some mics from Berklee College of Music where he was a professor in the Harmony Department and recorded four guitar/cello/vocal trio pieces and two guitar/cello duets. He later recorded four guitar/vocal duets with Whittaker in his office at Berklee after hours using the same equipment. For his 20th album, Stein is finally releasing these sessions with a title that captures the trio’s great camaraderie: AMONG FRIENDS.  

Stein’s cohorts are longtime pals from his early performance days, both prominent performers in the Northeast. The guitarist first met White when he lived in Vermont and, newly interested in playing jazz, was looking for great collaborators. White, a classically trained cellist with special affinity for improvisational music and many other styles, became a favorite. The cello provides a wonderful duet possibility for the guitar, capable of providing both a bass part and soaring melody. Based now in Ithaca, NY, White has performed and taught around the U.S., Canada, Europe, and North Africa. The founder and former director of the New Directions Cello Festival (a haven for alternative uses for the instrument), White’s latest solo album is Song for Rob (2018), a set of original acoustic world jazz with a Spanish flair. 

Later, living in Boston in the 90s, and well into his first decade as a professor at Berklee, Stein got a steady gig for several years playing in duet settings with female vocalists at a café on Thursday and Friday nights. Although he worked with just about “every female vocalist who lived in the Boston area,” he most enjoyed working with Whittaker. Whittaker, whose mother was also a professional singer, began her career in the late 80s and has performed jazz and blues at popular venues in the region ever since. Over the years, she has worked with some of New England’s top jazz performers.

Stein’s recent recordings have all been mastered by engineer John Mailloux at Bongo Beach Productions in Westport, MA. Through the expertise of Mailloux, the music on this home-grown album is sonically superb.  

AMONG FRIENDS features dynamic duo and trio arrangements of eight Songbook standards and three Stein originals. The album opens with an easy swinging spin on Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer’s 1939 song “I Thought About You,” a great introductory showcase for Whittaker’s sensual vocals with sweet guitar and cello solos. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “It Might as Well Be Spring” (from the 1945 film State Fair) is presented as a spirited voice and guitar duet in double-time with a straight 8th feel. Duke Ellington’s timeless “Prelude To A Kiss” is a moody vocal ballad featuring haunting cello accompaniment and a melodic cello solo, with delicate guitar support. Stein’s first original piece in the collection is “Sarlat,” a minor key guitar and cello duet with interactive improvisations. 

After a seductive, bluesy stroll through a vocal/guitar duet on “Since I Fell for You” (popularized by Lenny Welch’s 1958 version), the trio presents “Our Love Will See Us Through,” another Stein original with lyrics by vocalist Ron Gill. The tune has an elegant guitar and cello intro, a gentle swing feel, with dynamic singing cello and guitar solos, and a wonderful vocal performance.

The next two tracks are compelling vocal/guitar duets – a bluesy, swinging romp through Bobby Troup’s classic road tune “Route 66” and a wistful gently reflective “Autumn Nocturne,” featuring a sweetly emotional vocal with delicate textured guitar accompaniment. Stein, White and Whittaker cover the Gershwins’ oft-interpreted “Summertime,” which begins as a dark ballad before becoming an up-tempo swinger. Next is Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne’s “Time After Time.” It features the three musical friends inhabiting their communal musical space together: Whittaker’s mellow vocal supported by Stein’s chordal accompaniment and melodic soloing; White’s plucked bass part, along with a pizzicato and arco solo.

AMONG FRIENDS wraps with Stein’s final original of the set, “Switch-A-Roo,” a whimsical straight 8th boogaloo blues presented as a guitar/cello duet with interactive improvisation. The two musicians listen and react to each other beautifully, weaving funky lines around each other.

Since recording the 11 tracks of AMONG FRIENDS with Chris White and Faye Whittaker very early in his career, John Stein has become one of jazz’s most versatile and acclaimed guitarists, with three decades of recordings in a wide variety of settings. In addition to introducing his fans to the talents of two of the Northeast’s most powerful jazz performers, this album gives Stein’s fans special insight into the artist’s early sensibilities and points the way toward the large body of work he has accomplished in his stellar recording career.

AMONG FRIENDS is available digitally on selected digital platforms, released on May 23, 2025 on Tiger Turn. 

Legendary Afro-Jazz Pioneers Oneness Of Juju Return After 30+ Years with New Album Made Through Ritual

Strut present the first international release in over 30 years by legendary Afro-jazz group Oneness Of Juju with their new album ‘Made Through Ritual’ on 11th July 2025.

In 1975, the late DJ/producer and jazz distributor Jimmy Gray and James “Plunky” Branch joined a musical revolution, founding Black Fire Records and releasing the label’s debut album, the classic ‘African Rhythms’ by Oneness of Juju. This summer, Plunky brings this important musical relationship full circle with ‘Made Through Ritual’, produced by Plunky’s son Jamiah “Fire” Branch and Jimmy’s son Jamal Gray.

The album takes a novel approach to beat culture. Working from demos created by Jamal using a selection of original jazz samples, Plunky took the tracks, replayed and re-interpreted the arrangements using live musicians. “The album explores the art of deconstruction and reconstruction in music – sampling, sequencing, and live improvisation merge with multi-track recording to craft intricate harmonies and arrangements,” explains Plunky. “The process became a ritualistic expression of creativity and transformation.”

The resulting album is a fascinating listen. Opening with the meditative soul chant ‘Share This Love’ voiced by regular Oneness vocalist Charlayne “Chyp” Green, the album opens out into a series of jazz vignettes including the title track, ‘In Due Time’ and ‘Free Spirit’. The powerful album closer, ‘Children Of The Drum’ celebrates black culture and legacy through the poetry of Roscoe Burnem. ‘Made Through Ritual’ represents an important new chapter in the Oneness story.

The album will be supported by a selection of European tour dates during Autumn and Winter 2025.

Kaze Unleashes Avant-Garde Mayhem with Shishiodoshi, Featuring Vocal Maverick Koichi Makigami

No previous album in their 14-year history will prepare you for the gleeful lunacy of Shishiodoshi (July 11, 2025 via Circum/Libra), the latest CD from Kaze, the cooperative quartet featuring Japanese composer-pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura along with French trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins. With guest vocalist Koichi Makigami along for the ride, Kaze unleashes an inspired blend of serious music-making and quirky humor. “We had so much fun making this record!,” Fujii says. “Koichi brought something unique to the music and it made us play differently.” 

Kaze and Makigami, a legend of Japanese avant-rock and sometime collaborator with free improvisers, first met several years ago when Kaze performed at Jazz Art Sengawa, a festival for which Makigami is an artistic director. But they didn’t play together until early last year during Kaze’s tour of Japan. When Fujii learned that Makigami was going to be in Europe in the late spring, she invited him to join Kaze for a concert in Lille, the home of Pruvost and Orins.

Sparks flew immediately. “Make a Change,” the album’s opening track, explodes upon the listener with a roiling, dense quartet improvisation that impresses with its tightly coordinated high-energy interactions. The instruments break off suddenly and Makigami launches into a mind-boggling display of vocal pyrotechnics, uncorking a flood of incomprehensible babbling, squeaking, vocal multiphonics, growls, and panting that somehow cohere into a musical statement with absurd juxtapositions as an organizing principle. And from there, they continue in a madcap kaleidoscopic flow of sound, changing directions at an exhausting rate. There’s no predicting and no escaping the cascade of sound and feeling rushing at your ears and it’s best to just give yourself over to the sonic cataract and hold on for the ride. 

The pace slows, but the surprises continue on the completely improvised title track. It takes its name from a common sight in Japanese gardens—a water-filled bamboo tube that clacks against a stone when emptied. Even at the slower tempo, the same surreal logic guides the music. Subtle textures and tone colors form a cloud of gentle abstract sounds at the beginning but the delicacy gives way to a quirky vocal trio between Tamura, Makigami, Pruvost and a soaring free-wheeling climax. 

Tamura’s “Inspiration 2” closes the CD with more evocative musical hi-jinks. The opening section provides a temporary moment of serenity, with the group imitating the sounds of nature. But it is soon replaced by quiet percussion and a skein of breathy trumpets, shakuhachi, and strummed piano strings. Another shockingly intense solo vocal outing from Makigami raises the energy level, ushering in a collective improvisation and an incendiary piano solo from Fujii. The music rushes on to an exuberant climax to end on a high note. 

This is music of teeming vitality that embraces life in all its glorious absurdity. 

Pianist and composer Satoko Fujii, “an improviser of rumbling intensity and generous restraint” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), is one of the most original voices in jazz today. For nearly 30 years, she has created a unique, personal music that spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone. Highlights include a piano trio with Mark Dresser and Jim Black (1997-2009), and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins (2001-2008). In addition to a wide variety of other small groups of different instrumentation, she has established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.” 

Trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is internationally recognized for a unique vocabulary that blends extended techniques with touching jazz lyricism. This unpredictable virtuoso has led bands with radically different approaches throughout his career. He’s played avant-rock jazz fusion with First Meeting, the Natsuki Tamura Quartet, and Junk Box. Since 2003, he has focused on the intersection of European folk music and sound abstraction with Gato Libre. A member many of Fujii’s ensembles, he has recorded 7 duet CDs with her. In 2022, he released a series of five digital albums in various settings, including a trumpet quintet, Gato Libre, a duet with drummer Ittetsu Takemura, and two solo albums. 

Peter Orins leads his own bands and is a member of Trapeze, a quartet co-led by saxophonist Sakina Abdou, turntablist Joke Lanz, and trombonist Matthias Müller. In addition to serving as an artistic director of Muzzix, a musicians cooperative in Lille, France, and helming the record label Circum-Disc, he also works in theater, composes for film and animation, and has recorded the music of Moondog with the Round the World of Sound project. 

Insatiable innovator of the whole sound spectrum of the trumpet, Christian Pruvost developed a very poetic and personal language for an entirely acoustic expedition. He multiplies collaborations as much in jazz as in creative and experimental music (founding member of the Muzzix and Zoone Libre collectives). In perpetual research on horns and pipes as well as different resonators and their transformations,he practices free improvisation and contemporary music, meets many artists in France and on all continents. He participates in several ensembles and collectives such as Muzzix, Dedalus, Le UN, Organik Orkestra, The Bridge, Nautilis, Ensemble 0 and more. 

Koichi Makigami is a pioneering Japanese vocalist, composer, poet, and performer internationally recognized for his experimental vocal techniques and innovative musical vision. Born in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, he rose to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder and frontman of the avant-garde rock band Hikashu, known for blending punk, jazz, electronic, and traditional Japanese music into a uniquely eclectic sound. 

Renowned for his exceptional vocal range and improvisational flair, Makigami often incorporates throat singing (khoomei), scat, and extended vocal techniques into his performances. His boundary-crossing collaborations include work with John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Thomas Strønen, and Derek Bailey, spanning a wide spectrum of musical and cultural contexts. 

Beyond music, Makigami is also well known as a poet, theatrical performer, and vocal improviser. He is the founder and artistic director of the Jazz Art Sengawa festival, a prominent platform for avant-garde and improvised music in Japan.  Constantly exploring new sonic territory, Makigami continues to perform worldwide, inspiring generations of artists with his fearless creativity and multidisciplinary approach.

 

 

ohn Yao Marks 20 Years in NYC with Powerful New Big Band Album Points in Time

 

It’s been 20 years since trombonist, composer, arranger and bandleader John Yao arrived in New York City; 10 years have passed since the release of his first big band album, the exuberant Flip-Flop. He’ll celebrate that tandem anniversary with Points in Time, the long-awaited follow-up by John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument (JY-17). While the album arrives as a commemoration of those two significant dates, the music it contains is deeply informed by a number of professional and personal milestones that have marked that two-decade journey. 

Set for release on July 11, 2025, via See Tao Recordings, Points in Time is enriched and invigorated by a wealth of experiences that Yao has enjoyed since Flip-Flop heralded the arrival of “a strong compositional voice and effective band-leader able to use his 17-piece band to paint across a wide spectrum and infuse his complex writing with a thoughtful balance of audacity, structure, humor, and sonic might” (All About Jazz). 

“So much of what’s happened over the last 20 years has definitely sparked different emotions that I’ve wanted to express in my music,” Yao says. “Sometimes those experiences and complex emotions take time to marinate, but ultimately they find their way into my writing and playing in a way that’s something like osmosis.” 

For the album’s repertoire, Yao culled favorite tunes from throughout his discography, revising small-band compositions in vibrant new big band arrangements. He also showcases the new pieces he’s penned over the intervening years, including works premiered during the “Big Band & Beyond” concert series that the JY-17 hosted at Greenwich House Music School in the wake of Flip-Flop’s release. 

Several of those new compositions are inspired by the most indelible experiences of Yao’s life. Since arriving in New York, he met and married his wife, Natalie; stood by her and supported her throughout her valiant battle with cancer; and celebrated the birth of the couple’s son, Nolan, following Natalie’s triumphant return to health. All three are reflected in poignant selections on Points in Time: the early days of romance and the fatigue and determination of health struggles on the elegant, moving “Early Morning Walk,” the sheer joy of new life on “Song for Nolan.” 

The gifted musicians that make up the 17-Piece group also can be traced to multiple points along Yao’s timeline. Some, including tenor saxophonist Tim Armacost, are classmates from Queens College, where Yao earned his master’s degree in his earliest days in the city, while trombonist Matt McDonaldis an even earlier acquaintance from Yao’s days in Chicago. Others – saxophonists Billy Drewes and Rich Perry, trumpeter Nick Marchione and drummer Andy Watson among them – shared the stage with Yao when he subbed in the legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Drewes is also a member of Yao’s three-horn quartet Triceratops, and several members, including Perry, McDonald, trumpeter David Smith and bassist Robert Sabin, reprise their roles from Flip-Flop. 

The lengthy span of time since that warmly received debut was no accident – as Yao writes in his liner notes, the “funny thing about recording a big band album [is that] it makes you want to never do it again!” Even though “every note somehow feels worth the struggle,” he says, “after the first album I was burned out from pushing that boulder up the hill.” Over the ensuing years he turned his attention to far more manageable endeavors: a co-led sextet with trumpeter Jimmy Smith, and a pair of albums with the aforementioned Triceratops. 

The big band bug never quite left him, however. That passion is evident in Yao’s writing and arranging for Points in Time, on which he revels in, as he puts it, “big band being big band.” After all, he fell in love with playing in large ensembles during his stints in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the pinnacle of traditional big band artistry. Yao isn’t averse to modernism in his own work; witness the striking “The Other Way,” a bold venture into 12-tone technique that points the way to the JY-17’s planned third outing. But Points in Time strongly embraces those timeless elements that make classic big band music so exhilarating.

“Traditional big band elements like sax or trombone soli, or brass opposing saxes, or shout choruses are textures that sometimes get overlooked in the big band idiom nowadays,” Yao explains. “Not to say that they have to be there, but in addition to being a blast to play, they are valuable in more than just a musical sense. They build morale and camaraderie. As a player of big band music for many years, I’ve found that they raise the level of the music in a way that’s hard to quantify, but you can definitely feel it. I’ve made a conscious effort to weave those elements into the arrangements.” 

A prime example is “Not Even Close,” which Yao wrote for his quintet in tribute to VJO founder Thad Jones and recorded on his debut album, In the Now. He once again drew on Jones’ inspiration as he revised the tune for big band, crafting exchanges between saxes and brass reminiscent of Thad’s classic “Little Pixie.” He wrote “First Step” around the same time, but even before forming the JY-17 recognized that it was meant to be a big band chart. It makes its long overdue premiere here. The final reinvention is the brooding “Triceratops Blues,” the first tune he penned for the three-horn band. 

Following the release of Flip-Flop Yao has also been commissioned to contribute compositions and arrangements for high school ensembles; Points in Time is bookended by updated versions of two such commissions, the original “Upside” and a fresh take on Herbie Hancock’s “Finger Painting.” The thrill that Yao describes in hearing these young bands play his music echoes his feelings about big band music in general, shedding light on why he’s returned to the form despite the formidable hurdles. 

“It’s an amazing feeling that you want to experience over and over again,” he marvels. “Playing a great trombone solo is always satisfying, but hearing musicians from all over the world bring your music to life and connecting with them on a deeper level is an extremely profound experience."

For the past two decades, John Yao has established himself as one of the premier trombonists, composers and arrangers on the New York City jazz scene. Yao’s lyrical soloing and expressive, round tone, combined with his relentless drive to push the boundaries of harmony and rhythm, have established him as a unique and forward-thinking jazz talent. He has been called “one of New York’s elite trombonists and is also a first-class, ambitious, and witty composer and leader” (Lucid Culture) and his compositions are described as “boldly diverse, Yao’s compositions cut across the swath of contemporary jazz’s field” (All About Jazz). In 2023, Yao earned a place in the Rising Star Trombone and Rising Star Big Band categories in the DownBeat Critics Poll. He has built an extensive body of work, collaborating with ensembles and performers worldwide and releasing five recordings as a bandleader—each showcasing his bold, boundary-pushing compositions for both small groups and big bands. In April 2025 he was appointed to the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows in the field of Music Composition.