Premiere: Hear Michael Wolff’s ‘Chill,’ a Tune off the Upcoming ‘Bounce’

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Michael Wolff’s Bounce, which counts backing from drummer Allan Mednard and bassist Ben Allison, also features a vocal turn from the pianist’s son, Nat Wolff.

(Photo: David Sokol)

Pianist Michael Wolff is set to issue Bounce, his followup to Swirl, on Feb. 7 through Sunnyside.

The album’s a mix of moods and styles, moving from the quickstep “Resuscitate” to the wondrous “Omar Sharif,” a composition from Broadway’s The Band’s Visit. “Chill,” a tune from the upcoming album debuts below.

“‘Chill’ is a song I wrote after being inspired by hip-hop and new-jack swing beats,” Wolff wrote in an email about a song he said came to him following a listen to LL Cool J’s “Round The Way Girl.” “It has a kind of bebop melody on top of eight looped chords. [Drummer] Allan Mednard plays a swinging and light beat under the song and [bassist] Ben Allison plays a wonderful solo.”

On Feb. 7 and 8, Wolff has a pair of dates set for Birdland in New York, and in March, he heads to California for two shows.

For additional information about the recording, visit the Sunnyside website. DB



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