Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Jazz Festival New York Posts 2025 Lineup
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
Vibraphonist Behn Gillece is, by nature, eclectic, counting drummer/vibraphonist Joe Chambers, pianist Cedar Walton and guitarist Steve Giordano as his composer’s trifecta.
(Photo: Sara Pettinella)Parallel Universe, the fourth album by New Jersey-based vibraphonist and composer Behn Gillece, blasts out of the gate like a thoroughbred. The program is performed by a sextet of New York City-based musicians who devour the 37-year-old’s memorable compositions.
“Behn’s writing is definitely a unique voice of his own,” noted pianist Art Hirahara, who played on the sessions alongside tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trumpeter Bruce Harris, bassist David Wong and drummer Rudy Royston. “It’s inspiring to play Behn’s tunes because his music is accessible. But at the same time, it also has little twists and turns that make it interesting to play.”
Gillece is, by nature, eclectic, counting drummer/vibraphonist Joe Chambers, pianist Cedar Walton and guitarist Steve Giordano as his composer’s trifecta.
“In the current era, there are so many musicians trying to do things that are radically different, because everybody’s looking for the next thing,” Gillece said. “And in a sense, I have that desire also. I’m not trying to recreate a different era. ... I’ve tried to not force anything. If I learn a couple new things from record to record, I try those [ideas] and work at my evolution in that way.”
There’s certainly an element of hard-bop familiarity present on Parallel Universe, but thanks to vivid arrangements, intriguing melodies and unusual stylistic choices, the music captures a listener’s imagination as it swings—hard.
The opening track, “Break The Ice,” does just that: It’s a high-flyer, featuring rousing solos from Gillece and Dillard, and boisterous accompaniment from Royston. “Bossa For RM” maintains a simmering pace and features breezy harmonic interplay. The brisk title track suggests a meeting between Bobby Hutcherson and Harold Land—no coincidence, considering the pair worked on countless recordings that influenced Gillece’s development. Royston’s knotty pocket opens “Smoke Screen,” a popping funk tune enhanced by radiant solos from Gillece and Hirahara. High-speed vigor propels “Eviscerate”; Afro-Cuban rhythms drive “Shadow Of The Flame”; “Evening Glow” provides repose within a lovely ballad.
Maintaining a busy teaching schedule at Rowan University and New Jersey City University, Gillece also contributes to the website vibesworkshop.com, has a weekly residence at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia and plays on an upcoming Posi-Tone project by the newly convened ensemble Out To Dinner. Different Flavors—an homage to Eric Dolphy’s classic 1964 album, Out To Lunch—is slated for a summer release.
“Behn’s compositions allow the band to interact and actually play, rather than purely serve the composition alone,” Hirahara said. “He’s coming out of the tradition, the swing feel, the language of bebop and post bebop, and you can really hear that.” DB
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
