By Josef Woodard | Published January 2026
“Ancestral” could easily be interpreted as a reference to alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher’s respect for trailblazing jazz sages, especially John Coltrane, via his soloing on his late-period albums Interstellar Space and Stellar Regions: the subject of O’Gallagher’s Ph.D. dissertation and a clear influence on his own free-minded playing.
However, Ancestral more directly links to the legacies of legendary drummers Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart, whose trans-linear pulse on the album is perhaps its most unique feature. Count this as an album best consumed with headphones and with all senses attuned. One of its great pleasures is beholding the twining, subtle interchange of two great jazz drummers, from ear to ear, conspiring to create a collective third drum persona.
In this bass-less instrumental scenario, O’Gallagher’s fluid and sometimes antic sax voice and guitarist Ben Monder, with his signature deep distorted tone and nimble shape-shifting style, float, simmer and wail atop the solid but understated
drum foundation.
Equations of structure and improvisational freedom are steadily in flux, according to the leader’s plan. Lyrical bookends “Awakening” and “Postcript” frame a rangy track list, shifting into oblique swing on “Under The Wire,” the wilds of “Profess” and the balladic brood of “Quixotica.”
Ancestral proposes a fresh model in the dualistic field of inside-outside jazz, with bold playing from each player and a discernible ambition to find new spaces and ways of being in the music. The storied drummers get their due, dual spotlight.
