Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
DownBeat’s 73rd Annual Critics Poll: One for the Record Books
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
JP Schlegelmilch (left), Jonathan Goldberger and Jim Black
(Photo: Reuben Radding/Peter Gannushkin/Emiliano Neri)For more than two decades, Jim Black’s been the backbeat to some extraordinary collaborations, usually settled somewhere at the fringes of the jazz ecosystem.
In a new trio, the drummer continues working some avant and psychedelic sounds into the genre alongside guitarist Jonathan Goldberger and keyboardist JP Schlegelmilch. The troupe, angling to re-invigorate the organ trio format, is set to issue its debut, Visitors, on Sept. 21.
The effort veers from rock-inflected, grandiose gestures on “Chiseler” to McLaughlin-meets-ambient gambits on “Terminal Waves.” Below is the debut of another track from the album, “Corvus,” a cut spacey enough to generate empathy for long-lost space explorers and robots, despite being named after a bird.
“Corvus refers to crows—it’s the genus of birds they belong to. And some kind of black magic did happen in the studio with this track,” Goldberger said. “It’s written in a meter that’s odd and not so intuitive, and Jim just ate it for breakfast. The intro is interesting in that we pre-recorded JP’s organ into a ’70s Korg tape echo, then had to sync it up with tape playback.”
For additional information about the upcoming disc, visit Skirl Records. DB
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
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