ISM cover
Released

Jazz is a language with countless dialects, and Junius Paul speaks all of them. The bassist is capable of playing with a certain elemental directness that never makes the physicality of his musicianship an afterthought, and his role shift from veteran sideman to bandleader here lets all the avenues of his expression out. The relentless tumult of opener “You Are Free to Choose” is music as colossal natural force majeure that leaves absolutely nothing that follows as uncharacteristic — you could go anywhere from there, and in the two and a half years these sessions span, Paul traverses Sun Ra-in-repose quietude (“View From the Moon”), pugilistic soul-jazz of a boom-bap bent (“Baker’s Dozen”), flesh-and-blood percussive Afro-minimalism (“Fred Anderson and a Half”), fast-forward hard bop that hits like McCoy Tyner gone thrash (“The One Who Endures”), and a glorious crash course in everything that made electric Miles amazing (“Spocky Chainsey Has Re-Emerged”).

Nate Patrin

Suggestions
Oz Waves cover

Oz Waves

Various Artists
Webo cover

Webo

Charles Gayle, Milford Graves, William Parker
Unusual Object cover

Unusual Object

Josh Johnson
Life Goes On cover

Life Goes On

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow
Live Volume V cover

Live Volume V

Fred Anderson
Black Woman cover

Black Woman

Sonny Sharrock
Koma Saxo cover

Koma Saxo

Petter Eldh, Koma Saxo
The Bandwagon cover

The Bandwagon

Jason Moran