Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Marc Copeland (left), Drew Gress, John Abercrombie and Joey Baron will release a new album, Up And Coming, on ECM on Jan. 13.
(Photo: Courtesy ECM)Guitarist John Abercrombie, who has recorded as a leader for the ECM label since 1974, returns with a second album by his quartet featuring pianist Marc Copland and longtime rhythm partners Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums.
The album, titled Up And Coming, will be released on ECM on Jan. 13.
The group’s previous album, 39 Steps, was released in 2013 to wide critical acclaim, praised in for its lyricism and nuance in the February 2014 issue of DownBeat (the album was also among DownBeat’s “Best Albums of 2014”).
The same elements of melody and harmonic/rhythmic subtlety are apparent with Up and Coming, which consists of eight tracks, including five originals by Abercrombie, two by Copland and Miles Davis’ 1958 composition “Nardis.”
The quartet has announced a U.S. tour in support of the album, with stops at the Regattabar in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Jan. 21); Birdland in New York City (Jan. 24–28); Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. (Jan. 31); DazzleJazz in Denver (Feb. 17–18); the Portland Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon (Feb. 19); and SFJAZZ in San Francisco (Feb. 23).
For more information, visit the ECM Records website.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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