{"id":10441,"date":"2025-05-05T21:11:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T02:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=10441"},"modified":"2025-05-14T09:21:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T14:21:28","slug":"review-quantum-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-quantum-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Quantum Blues\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">There are widely publicized and wildly anticipated supergroups, and then there are those &#8211; at least a few &#8211; that sprout suddenly without heralding fanfare.&nbsp; The Quantum Blues Quartet is the epitome of the latter, joining four iconic players who came together in New York in 2024 for a day-long session. They are avant-garde jazz virtuoso and extreme guitarist Tisziji Mu\u00f1oz,&nbsp;a more familiar name to all of us, keyboardist Paul Shaffer of Letterman and SNL fame, the incomparable, funk-driven electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and two-time Grammy winning Living Colour drummer, Will Calhoun. The four sat down to play all day without preparation, charts, or ostensible plans for the resulting <em>Quantum Blues<\/em> (Ropeadope, 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Shaffer had called Mu\u00f1oz his mentor since 1969, and although the two have recorded together previously, it was the guitarist\u2019s wife who urged Shaffer to bring together a full band. Remarkably, the 78-year-old Mu\u00f1oz had never previously met Tacuma or Calhoun. Mu\u00f1oz is a spiritual artist who draws praise from many progressive musicians and has a guitar sound best described perhaps as a cross of Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, and John Coltrane. In previous writings, I have described the blues guitarist Ronnie Earl as \u201cthe John Coltrane of the guitar\u201d because of his spiritual approach, but Mu\u00f1oz ventures much further into the outer realms. His career has flourished in the underground of sorts, with many becoming aware of him through the recent unearthing of Pharaoh Sanders\u2019 <em>Harvest Time<\/em> (Luaka, 2023) and the subsequent tour behind that landmark album. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_R51HPy_ZZ5s\"><div id=\"lyte_R51HPy_ZZ5s\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/R51HPy_ZZ5s\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R51HPy_ZZ5s\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/R51HPy_ZZ5s\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Despite his decreased notoriety, Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s talent is well-documented. As Shaffer notes, he has \u201cplayed with all the great guitar players, from Eric Clapton to Van Halen to Santana and Jeff Beck, and nobody plays guitar the way Tisziji Mu\u00f1oz does. He is very spiritual, and as a guitar player, he swings wild.\u201d Henry Kaiser offers, \u201cTisizji does not reach into a bag of licks and tricks to create music, as most guitarists do. On the contrary, he goes OUT THERE SOMEWHERE and channels energy that is converted into guitar sounds by his physical being.\u201d Mu\u00f1oz is also an accomplished author who has written on his own Heart-Fire-Sound that embraces the subjects of spirituality, genius, creativity, and time mastery.\u00a0 His manner of playing and written works have transformed the way many musicians think and play music. In short, it\u2019s from the inside out. You can read more about the recording in <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/beyond-quantum-blues-munoz-shaffer\/\" title=\"\">Rob Shepherd&#8217;s interview with both Mu\u00f1oz and Shaffer.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1132051940\/album=172415788\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Trusting that most readers are more familiar with the other three collaborators, we\u2019ll jump to the music, which is likely lengthy jams&nbsp;edited into digestible five or six-minute tracks. Each track has  \u2018Blues\u2019 in the title, but don\u2019t expect any kind of twelve-bar blues or conventional structures.&nbsp; This is at a more abstract and advanced level. Hence, the title <em>Quantum Blues<\/em>. As Shaffer says, <em>\u201c<\/em>The music must be heard to be believed.\u201d In that sense, written words can\u2019t possibly do it justice, but we\u2019ll do our best to give some context.&nbsp; Don\u2019t be tempted to sample individual tracks, as this journey OUT can only be fully appreciated by listening to it in its entirety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Early moments of the album are very guitar-focused as the band lets Mu\u00f1oz lead the way as they get more comfortable with him as it evolves. From the outset, the guitarist launches into his fiery, exploratory lines spurred on by thunderous bass and drums in \u201cWho Is Not the Blues.\u201d In \u201cGood News Blues,\u201d which begins with a fanfare of power chords, Shaffer joins on piano, adding support to Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s labyrinthine path. \u201cMama\u2019s Blues\u201d is filled with discordant, resonating chords to begin, but the guitarist goes into orbit and keeps pushing outward. Calhoun is a whirlwind on his kit. \u201cSwami Lama Blues\u201d features Shaffer\u2019s otherworldly organ while \u201cHeavenly Blues\u201d is more ethereal, imbued by Shaffer\u2019s sweeping piano and Tacuma and Calhoun stepping forward. The quartet plays full tilt with Shaffer on organ and a locked-in bass-drum tandem on the vigorous excursion, \u201cBe Home Before Now Blues,\u201d which evaporates into a blur of electronics. The aptly titled \u201cLosing One\u2019s Mind Blues\u201d has the guitarist wailing to no abandon before yielding to Calhoun\u2019s blistering solo, the first for a quartet member other than Mu\u00f1oz, seven tracks in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"120\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1326052885\/album=172415788\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If you ever believed that guitar couldn\u2019t go to a higher level than Hendrix of Mahavishnu, this collaborative session shatters any such notion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong><em>&#8216;Quantum Blues&#8217; is available now on Ropeadope Records. It can be purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/quantumbluesquartet.bandcamp.com\/album\/quantum-blues\" title=\"\">on Bandcamp.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are widely publicized and wildly anticipated supergroups, and then there are those &#8211; at least a few &#8211; that sprout suddenly without heralding fanfare.&nbsp; The Quantum Blues Quartet is the epitome of the latter, joining four iconic players who came together in New York in 2024 for a day-long session. They are avant-garde jazz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":10443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":233,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1978-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-2Ip","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10467,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/beyond-quantum-blues-munoz-shaffer\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":0},"title":"To Be Beyond: A Conversation with Tisziji Mu\u00f1oz and Paul Shaffer on \u2018Quantum Blues\u2019","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"May 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Scholarly analyses of the Blues tend to emphasize a specific style born of the African American experience, developed from spirituals, field hollers, and work songs. They focus on twelve-bar chord progressions with flatted notes and call and response. However, such narrowly defined conceptualizations of the Blues miss the music's full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1975-1.jpg?fit=1094%2C730&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1975-1.jpg?fit=1094%2C730&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1975-1.jpg?fit=1094%2C730&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1975-1.jpg?fit=1094%2C730&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/img_1975-1.jpg?fit=1094%2C730&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11754,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/rob-shepherd-favorite-albums-of-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":1},"title":"EIC Rob Shepherd&#8217;s Favorite Albums of 2025","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"December 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"2025 was a year of great growth for our site. In addition to Brian Kiwanuka and John Chacona\u2019s reviews, friend turned staff writer Jim Hynes, joined us in a big way. That includes his review of the Big Ears Festival, an event I\u00a0 have long wanted to attend, but for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_3222-2.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_3222-2.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_3222-2.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_3222-2.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11651,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/best-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":2},"title":"PostGenre&#8217;s Best of 2025","author":"PostGenre Writing Staff","date":"December 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Deeming any album the \"best\" of a given year is inherently fraught with problems. First, there are the logistical issues. Generally, thousands of recordings are released annually. Given that a year has only 8,760 hours, it is logistically impossible to listen to everything. Often, classifications can help limit the scope.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_2649.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_2649.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_2649.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_2649.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11848,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/cellar-door-sessions-at-fifty-five-night-four\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":3},"title":"The Cellar Door Sessions at Fifty-Five: December 19, 1970","author":"John Chacona","date":"December 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday, December 19, 1970 For first-time listeners to The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (Columbia, 1970), the first four discs can be like a side trip to unfamiliar neighborhoods of a well-known place. The language is the same, the architecture familiar, but the details are new and delightfully alive. Arriving at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Special Series&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Special Series","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/special-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cellar-Door-Cover.png?fit=972%2C828&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cellar-Door-Cover.png?fit=972%2C828&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cellar-Door-Cover.png?fit=972%2C828&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cellar-Door-Cover.png?fit=972%2C828&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4818,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-tyshawn-sorey-trios-mesmerism\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":4},"title":"Review: Tyshawn Sorey Trio\u2019s \u2018Mesmerism\u2019","author":"John Chacona","date":"July 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Did any artist have a better 2021 than Tyshawn Sorey? The 2017 MacArthur Fellow was the subject of a New York Times Magazine profile, premiered recordings of two large ensemble compositions, and received acclaim for albums with saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, DJ\/producer King Britt. Not to mention his role in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/882c1d56-da2d-49c7-a2c8-5afb42cb944c.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/882c1d56-da2d-49c7-a2c8-5afb42cb944c.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/882c1d56-da2d-49c7-a2c8-5afb42cb944c.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/882c1d56-da2d-49c7-a2c8-5afb42cb944c.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2485,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/shepp-moran-let-my-people-go\/","url_meta":{"origin":10441,"position":5},"title":"Review: Archie Shepp &#038; Jason Moran&#8217;s &#8216;Let My People Go&#8217;","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"January 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Albert Murray once noted that \u201cthe blues is not the creation of a crushed-spirited people [but rather] the product of a forward-looking, upward-striving people.\u201d Throughout his career, Archie Shepp has explored the connection between the blues and aspiration for a brighter future. He\u2019s done so significantly by branching the sonic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Shepp-Moran.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Shepp-Moran.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Shepp-Moran.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Shepp-Moran.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10441"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10485,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10441\/revisions\/10485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}