By Frank Alkyer | Published February 2026
There is something compelling in the way that Maria Schneider tells a story. Her multi-award-winning album Data Lords from 2020 warned of a world being taken over by technology and big data. It was breathtaking, full of inspired composition and musicianship. Data Lords won DownBeat’s Album of the Year for both the Readers and Critics polls in 2021, and Schneider was named Composer and Arranger of the Year. The Maria Schneider Orchestra was named Large Ensemble of the Year, too. Schneider’s latest work, American Crow, serves as an extension of Data Lords. It’s an EP that clocks in at around 30 minutes, with two versions of the title song, and it is well worth every minute of listening.
“American Crow” as a composition delivers a fascinating mix of cacophony and quiet, demonstrating “the toxicity of our present social discourse that’s devolved into an impenetrable knot of curated rage,” as Schneider says in the work’s accompanying “visual narrative” on YouTube. That “video,” a fine piece of filmography, leads with a quote by the ancient philosopher Epictetus: “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak” — something that seems like a lost art. And that’s the true essence of Schneider’s vision. She asks for listening, understanding, care. Through her music, she asks us to come together. She is a unifying force.
“American Crow” hits hard from the downbeat, the band blaring, the trumpet section imitating the sound of crows cawing. From that chaos — and a quick side note, even chaos sounds beautiful in Schneider’s hands — the mood of the tune turns to a meditative lament featuring Mike Rodriguez’s tear-rendering trumpet work. Schneider, like her heroes before, has mastered the art of writing for her individual band members, all of whom have been with the ensemble for most of its three-decade career. In this case, it’s Rodriguez who enjoys the featured role. And his emotionally charged playing is simply devastating.
As the piece builds, the orchestra gradually turns up the heat. Cawing saxophones here, trumpets there, trombones reverberating down below. Johnathan Blake drives the music from the drum kit.
Then the tune slowly turns quiet, almost like birds on a wire chattering back and forth while Rodriguez’s plaintive trumpet calls out over the top. The trombones deliver an occasional low growl. Then the end. Silence.
Along with the two versions of “American Crow,” the EP includes another terrific piece, a re-recording of “A World Lost” from Data Lords, but done in a much different, more Americana, American Crow style. This piece serves as a feature spot for guitarist Jeff Miles. And it just slams. Julien Labro conjures a longing accordion drone, over which Miles blazes tasteful, tuneful and audacious in all the right places. The tune also briefly features a beautiful piano contribution from Gary Versace.
The packaging here is exquisite as well. The album art is very cool, commissioned by Aaron Horkey, who’s from Schneider’s hometown of Windom, Minnesota. The video narrative is totally worth a watch.
The only thing better than hearing this EP is hearing the music performed live. Schneider has been featuring the piece during recent shows. It was a major highlight of the orchestra’s performance last Labor Day Weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival. An added bonus there was watching how much she, and the members of her band, enjoyed performing the music.
The Maria Schneider Orchestra is one of the greatest joys in jazz today. American Crow is proof.
