Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
DownBeat’s 73rd Annual Critics Poll: One for the Record Books
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Charles Tolliver plays at RAK Studios in London during the sessions for Connect, the trumpeter’s first release for the UK imprint Gearbox.
(Photo: Pete Gardner)Trumpeter Charles Tolliver, whose Strata-East imprint served as a home to exploratory acts like Oneness Of Juju and Mtume Umoja Ensemble during the 1970s, is set to issue his first studio date in more than a decade.
UK imprint Gearbox recently announced the July 10 release of Connect, an album that features contributions from bassist Buster Williams, drummer Lenny White and saxophonist Binker Golding, among others.
“I like to rumble,” Tolliver said in a press release. “I take the most difficult routes for improvisation. It’s easy to play a number of choruses effortlessly and never make a mistake, never break down. That’s no fun.”
The planned release is set to extend a discography that stretches back to Tolliver’s appearance on saxophonist Jackie McLean’s 1965 Blue Note album, It’s Time!, and includes work with artists such as Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz and Doug Carn. DB
Updated May 29
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