Album Reviews

Review: Alvaro Torres Trio’s ‘Mairena’

Since 2023, the Alvaro Torres trio - pianist Torres, bassist Masa Kamaguchi, and drummer Kresten Osgood - has uniquely merged…

1 day ago

Review: Tyshawn Sorey’s ‘Members… Don’t!’

Drummer, composer, and arranger Tyshawn Sorey has put together a top-shelf quintet for a blistering, intense, live double-LP reimagining of…

3 days ago

Review: David Sanchéz’s ‘Tambó’

A careful observer may notice that many of Ropeadope’s recent releases are tied to the Third Way Cultural Alliance (TWCA), a…

6 days ago

Review: Eric Harland’s ‘Vipassana II’

Twelve years have elapsed since drummer and composer Eric Harland released the first installment of Vipassana (Ropeadope, 2014). The music took many by…

1 week ago

Review: Altin Sencalar’s ‘Natural Rhythm’

Natural Rhythm (Posi-Tone, 2025) is the seventh album by composer and trombonist Altin Sencalar. The album features unorthodox takes on jazz…

2 weeks ago

Review: Harry Skoler’s ‘Echoes’

Despite the instrument‘s long history in improvised music, the clarinet is often still an outlier instrument in contemporary jazz. Yet,…

2 weeks ago

Review: New Jazz Underground’s ‘Hoodies’

The chordless trio, and especially the saxophone trio, continues to thrive in increasingly adventurous ways. New Jazz Underground (“NJU”), a…

2 weeks ago

Review: Joe Lovano’s ‘Paramount Quartet’

The performance by Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet at the 2025 Big Ears Festival was revelatory, in some ways the polar…

3 weeks ago

Review: Chris Potter’s ‘Alive with Ghosts Today’

Most listeners don’t necessarily associate saxophonist and composer Chris Potter’s work as sociologically or historically focused. Yet, the saxophonist played a…

3 weeks ago

Review: Jamile and Vinicius Gomes’s ‘Boundless Species’

The drum-less duo of vocalist Jamile and guitarist Vinicius Gomes, joined by bassist Joe Martin, puts a new spin on…

3 weeks ago