By Michael J. West | Published January 2026
If the title has you looking for “Take My Hand Precious Lord” on organ in 12/8, this ain’t it. In fact, vibraphonist Joel Ross’ Gospel Music is nearly two-thirds through before it shows any of the traditional hallmarks of, well, gospel music. What we hear instead is Joel Ross music: contemplative, sometimes intricate, often moody 21st-century post-bop with subtle emotional colorings.
All that said, Gospel Music is a musical retelling of the Bible, placing an epigram up top (the thoughtfully patterned “Wisdom Is Eternal (For Barry Harris)”) before diving into an analogue of Genesis 1:1 (“Trinity (Father, Son And Holy Spirit)”) and continuing through Revelation (“Now And Forevermore”). But one need not know the Old Testament to recognize the troubled mien saxophonists Josh Johnson (alto) and Maria Grand (tenor) project on “Hostile,” corresponding to humanity’s growing corruption before the Flood — though schooling in jazz probably helps one recognize the echoes of Bud Powell’s “Tempus Fugit.” The transition into hope and peace offered by “The Sacred Place,” with Jeremy Corren’s gentle piano line over Kanoa Mendenhall and Jeremy Dutton’s light bass and drums. The album liners offer chapter-and-verse citations that provide perspective, but the message is clear without them.
In that final third, not only do the familiar gospel music tropes resound (beginning with the short but quietly joyful “A Little Love Goes A Long Way”), but so do vocals. Laura Bibb offers soft plaintiveness on “Praise To You, Lord Jesus Christ”; Ekep Nkwelle brings stately grandeur to “Calvary”; guitarist Andy Louis quietly declaims in an intimate and profoundly moving duo with Corren on “The Giver.” Gospel Music is rewriting the rules of gospel music; these moments simply place it more firmly in our grasp.
