Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
Joel Ross is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.
(Photo: Lauren Desberg)Four years after moving to New York to study music, Joel Ross—already a veteran sideman—released his leader debut, KingMaker (Blue Note). The 2019 disc earned rave reviews, heralding the arrival of a vibraphonist who was also a conceptualist.
So, how is the 25-year-old Chicago native capitalizing on the buzz? By releasing a follow-up album and, well, going back to school. Even as Who Are You? (Blue Note) was released in October, Ross returned to The New School to finish his bachelor’s degree.
“I don’t like to do the obvious thing,” he said.
His decision as a youth to join the relatively small fraternity of vibraphonists came, he said, after his brother proved to be the better drummer. But it satisfied a creative urge to combine the characteristics of his favorite instruments—the drums and piano.
“The vibraphone is the best outlet to play a percussive instrument and express myself harmonically and theoretically,” he said.
As a bandleader, his guiding lights often have been trumpeters, including Miles Davis, Marquis Hill and Ambrose Akinmusire. Their willingness to grant their bandmates autonomy has proved a model.
“I don’t give my band much direction,” Ross explained. “Just bring the music. Be completely honest. Search for something higher.”
According to alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, a member of Ross’ quintet, Good Vibes, the leader seems determined to explore new sonic territory with his instrument: “He may have changed the vibes’ role within the comping realm. He’s developed a language where he’s able to play in between other people’s solos, with some landmarks, without normal comping chords—a motif way of comping.”
Ross, in fact, plays down traditional notions of accompanist and soloist, speaking instead of a joint effort to “craft a sort of long-form song.”
In January, Ross is scheduled to arrange a piece or two for the Danish Radio Big Band. His experience with ensembles of that size is limited, he said, motivating his return to school, where he will study arranging. He plans to use this new knowledge to avoid the obvious.
“I want to look into big band and orchestra writing, so that I can understand how it works,” he said, “so that I can break away from it.”
This story originally was published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
D’Angelo achieved commercial and critical success experimenting with a fusion of jazz, funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop.
Oct 14, 2025 1:47 PM
D’Angelo, a Grammy-winning R&B and neo-soul singer, guitarist and pianist who exerted a profound influence on 21st…
Kandace Springs channeled Shirley Horn’s deliberate phrasing and sublime self-accompaniment during her set at this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
Sep 30, 2025 12:28 PM
Janis Burley, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival’s founder and artistic director, did not, as might be…
Jim McNeely’s singular body of work had a profound and lasting influence on many of today’s top jazz composers in the U.S. and in Europe.
Oct 7, 2025 3:40 PM
Pianist Jim McNeely, one of the most distinguished large ensemble jazz composers of his generation, died Sept. 26 at…
Drummond was cherished by generations of mainstream jazz listeners and bandleaders for his authoritative tonal presence, a defining quality of his style most apparent when he played his instrument unamplified.
Nov 4, 2025 11:39 AM
Ray Drummond, a first-call bassist who appeared on hundreds of albums as a sideman for some of the top names in jazz…
