Vibes Phenom Joel Ross Dips His Jazz Into Gospel Music
Joel Ross takes his usual pyrotechnics and funnels them into a refined ensemble sound that also channels sincere, powerful jazz with a gospel center.
new jazz
Craig Taborn Is at the Apex of Contemporary Jazz
In 2026, Craig Taborn and other improvisers of his generation are at the peak of their creativity. This music has rarely been more elevated, refined, and exciting.
Patricia Brennan Creates Otherworldly Jazz
Patricia Brennan has assembled a unique ensemble featuring strings and electronics, as well as a jazz quintet. She continues to astound us.
Henry Threadgill Extends His Compositional Daring Into Intimacy
On Listen Ship, you will hear some of the finest creative musicians in the world lose themselves in Henry Threadgill’s patterns and plans. It’s a gentle, daring classic.
Flutist Jamie Baum Works with Poetry and Dynamic Voice
Jamie Baum merges powerful poetry, sophisticated arrangement and composition, and a range of historical influences not restricted to one tradition or tonality.
Bassist Stephan Crump Conjures an Optimistic Flow on ‘Slow Water’
Bassist and composer Stephan Crump’s ‘Slow Water’ is a reflection on the environment, using both New Music stalwarts and improvised jazz.
Steve Coleman and Five Elements Fuse Jazz and Hip-Hop Live at the Village Vanguard
On Live at the Village Vanguard Volume II, Steve Coleman and Five Elements blend New Jazz and hip-hop. The sound is liquid and flowing, tidal and a tidal wave.
Drummer Johnathon Blake Is ‘Homeward Bound’
Johnathon Blake’s Blue Note debut, Homeward Bound, takes soulful jazz from the past, adds the complexity of the present with intelligence and adventure.
Walter Smith III and Matthew Stevens Make New Jazz So Easy to Love on ‘In Common 2’
Two of the top players in modern jazz make the second in a sequence of quintet recordings that presents jazz as unusually easy to love even as it maintains modern complexity.
Liberty Ellman’s ‘Last Desert’ Is Unafraid to Charm You and Challenge You
Guitarist Liberty Ellman's compositions for this brilliant sextet on Last Desert demand that you pay careful attention, but not that you tolerate harsh tonalities.
Jazz Guitarist Miles Okazaki Returns with a Quartet for ‘The Sky Below’
New Jazz guitarist Miles Okazaki brings back his brilliant quartet for a follow-up to and transformation of 2017's Trickster, daring some new challenges and sometimes coming through with answers on The Sky Below.
Kris Davis’ ‘Diatom Ribbons’ Is the Most Versatile and Bracing Jazz Recording of 2019
New Jazz pianist and composer Kris Davis makes a recording that presses with excitement into hip-hop and groove music without sacrificing any daring or compromising her vision.