Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
In Memoriam: Gordon Goodwin, 1954–2025
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Thundercat will release, Drunk, his third studio album, on March 10.
(Photo: )Raise your glasses, jazz fans. Bassist and producer Thundercat, aka Stephen Bruner, will release his third full-length studio album, Drunk, on Feb. 24 via Brainfeeder.
The album is a 23-track excursion through the creative process of the Grammy-winning artist, and features a host of chart-topping jazz , hip-hop and r&b artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Wiz Khalifa, Kamasi Washington and Brainfeeder label head founder Flying Lotus.
Drunk is the follow up to Thundercat’s widely praised 2015 album The Beyond/Where The Giants Roam. The new project features fan favorite tracks “Bus In These Streets” and “Them Changes.”
“Show You The Way” is the first single from Drunk, and the ballad features two of Thundercat’s idols: vocalists Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. The partnership stems back to Thundercat’s professed admiration of Loggins and McDonald during the bassist’s press tour for The Beyond.
Regarding the collaboration, Thundercat notes, “That song to me is about going down the rabbit hole, taking you to another place ... On the edge of dark, there’s the brightest light. It means a lot to me in the sense of ... the experience that I’ve had growing up with friends and people that I’ve been around where it’s inviting them into where I come from emotionally. Sometimes it’s a pretty intense thing. The point is how weird things can get. I feel like it’s very funny that, in a way, of course Michael McDonald and Kenny would be there.”
Drunk will be available Feb. 24 in digital and CD versions on Brainfeeder. The vinyl format—comprising four red 10-inch albums housed in a lift-off box featuring photography by Eddie Alcazar and artwork by Zack Fox—will be released on March 10. (On a familial note, Thundercat’s brother, the drummer/producer Ronald Bruner, will release his own debut album, Triumph, on Alpha Pup Records on March 3.)
All formats are available to preorder now via http://brainfeeder.net/thundercat. Thundercat is also set to tour internationally in support of the album, including a return performance at Coachella Music & Arts Festival. For tour dates and additional info, visit Brainfeeder’s website. DB
Goodwin was one of the most acclaimed, successful and influential jazz musicians of his generation.
Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Nov 13, 2025 10:00 AM
For results of DownBeat’s 90th Annual Readers Poll, complete with feature articles from our December 2025 issue,…
Flea has returned to his first instrument — the trumpet — and assembled a dream band of jazz musicians to record a new album.
Dec 2, 2025 2:01 AM
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, Flea has returned to his first…
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to interpret the music of Oscar Peterson in his native city,” said Jim Doxas in regard to celebrating the Canadian legend. “He traveled the world, but never forgot Montreal.”
Nov 18, 2025 12:16 PM
In the pantheon of jazz luminaries, few shine as brightly, or swing as hard, as Oscar Peterson. A century ago, a…
Dec 11, 2025 11:00 AM
DownBeat presents a complete list of the 4-, 4½- and 5-star albums from 2025 in one convenient package. It’s a great…