Still We Dream (Posi-Tone, 2025) is trumpeter and composer Josh Lawrence’s seventh release for the label that prides itself on revealing the “New Frontier of Jazz.” With it, the four-time Grammy nominee and regular member of Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band delivers a rather unusual album for a trumpeter. The music mostly consists of interpretations of Thelonious Monk and Frédéric Chopin compositions. One wouldn’t necessarily expect a live audience to receive this mix well. However, the warm reception received by Lawrence at his recent performance of the music at the Spring Exit Zero Jazz Festival defies such a notion. The music is not only imaginative but has plenty of energy and fire. It also has some deeply introspective moments. 

The overarching inspiration for the album is Monk’s “Ugly Beauty,” viewed by Lawrence as a portrait of Lady Liberty. In other words, the American ideal is equally beautiful and fractured; unresolved and still reaching. The latter part of that sentence has become vividly apparent in the last decade. So, take the theme of the record to be about imagination, resilience, and, although not stated directly by Lawrence, the will to hang on to that ever-elusive American Dream.  

Lawrence envisions a conversation between Monk and Chopin, each from vastly different worlds but whose music shares lyricism, clarity, and honesty. While studying with the late great Barry Harris, Lawrence learned that there are no real barriers between classical music and jazz. But Still We Dream does not attempt to fuse the two; instead, it aims for the two musical traditions to coexist openly. He creates a space between the past and present, one where we ask rhetorical questions, can listen deeply, and can dream in our individual ways. As stated before, the music leaves a lasting impact. Keep in mind that the album is intended as a conversation more than a presentation. As such, it’s best not to focus on specific tracks but rather on the project as a whole. 

Joining Lawrence are mostly stalwarts from the Posi-Tone label, tenorist Diego Rivera, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston. Two tracks also feature guitarist Mason Bryant. 

Four of the pieces do not relate to either Monk or Chopin. The inclusion of the opener, “Long As You’re Living,” by Julian Priester and Tommy Turrentine, was inspired by the 2024 Presidential election. On it, one hears some fiery lines from both Lawrence and Rivera. Another non-Monk non-Chopin tune is the more contemplative “Pure Imagination” by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, a well-known piece that offers hope and, as such, helped anchor the record. The lyricism from Lawrence and Hirahara is sublimely beautiful here. “Kradoudja” is a traditional Algerian folk tune, where the ensemble is at its powerhouse best, especially Hirahara. Finally, the album closes appropriately with the anthem “ America,” rendered in solemn hymn-like fashion but eventually brightened through Lawrence’s commanding trumpet and Hirahara’s emphatic piano.   

Monk’s title track is rendered gorgeously, a testament to the restraint of these players and Lawrence’s emotive trumpet. By contrast, Chopin’s “Op. 29: Impromptu No. 1” thrives on unison trumpet-saxophone lines, syncopation, and essentially a hard bop attack. The latter is more audible on Monk’s tribute to Art Blakey, “Boo Boo’s Birthday.” Listeners first feel Monk’s striking angularity in the classic “Evidence,” the piece rife with liquid lines from Lawrence and Rivera, masterful drumming from the ever-reliable Royston, and Hirahara’s superb comping. Similarly, we hear those elements on Monk’s “Light Blue,” where both the two-horn unison lines and Rivera’s hot solo are striking. 

Naturally, a Chopin piece answers “Light Blue.” In this case, “Op. 36 Impromptu No.2” begins pensively before Rivera unleashes fire, inspiring Lawrence to do the same, with the rhythm section – joined by guitarist Mason – firing on all cylinders. Mason steps out with a declarative solo too before passing to Hirahara, making this one of the album’s standouts.  The final back-and-forth between the two iconic composers features a fiery take on Monk’s eminently recognizable “Trinkle, Tinkle,” a terrific vehicle for this quintet and well-earned turn by Kozlov; and Chopin’s “Op. 35: Funeral March from Piano Sonata No. 2.” Understandably, the initial chords for the latter ten-minute epic are dark, and the music is suitably dirge-like. Yet, shortly, Lawrence and Rivera display perhaps their most deeply emotive playing in yet another standout, encapsulating both beauty and poignancy. 

It’s rare when an album breathes both class and compelling emotion. Lawrence has made the marriage work on Still We Dream.

‘Still We Dream’ will be available on August 15, 2025. It can be purchased on Bandcamp.

Photo credit: Ola Baldych