Joel Ross Quartet, Recorded August 22, 2020

Joel Ross vibraphones, Melissa Aldana saxophone, Matt Brewer bass, Craig Weinrib drums Last year, NPRs Nate Chinen referred to Chicagoborn, Brooklynbased vibraphonist Joel Ross as the breakout jazz star of the moment. He goes on to describe the then 23 year old as seeming to slip free of standard cognitive functions and into a bodacious flow state. Invariably, he s in the midst of a heated improvisation. Maybe he s bouncing on his heels, or bobbing like a marionette. His mallets form a blur, in contrast to the clarity of the notes they produce. The deft precision of his hammering inspires a visual comparison to some tournamentlevel version of WhacAMole. (Recording Engineer: Delaney Hafener, Post Production: Rafael Alvarez, Video Director Kate Gilroy)