By Ed Enright | Published February 2026
I consider myself lucky to have given this new album by Ben Rosenblum’s Nebula Project the kind of close, critical listen that it deserves. The Longest Way Around is the third release by the world-traveling accordionist/pianist/composer’s ensemble of virtuosic companions who share the leader’s restless curiosity and bring their own far-flung influences and backgrounds into the conversation. Returning from the Nebula Project’s previous recordings (2020’s Kites And Strings and 2023’s A Thousand Pebbles) are trumpeter/flugelhornist Wayne Tucker, saxophonist/reedman Jasper Dutz, guitarist Rafael Rosa, bassist Marty Jaffe and drummer Ben Zweig, who are joined on this melodically fortuitous and rhythmically adventurous new outing by percussionists Gustavo Di Dalva and Brad Dutz. Rosenblum and company venture further afield and in more divergent directions on The Longest Way Around, experimenting with distinct traditions on nearly every piece. Rosenblum casts the album’s 11 original compositions in colorfully arranged, carefully woven tapestries of woodwinds, brass, keyboards and guitar, with the drums and bass playing essential parts in the charts. Propelled by feel-good ostinato grooves, world-funk syncopation and smooth-shifting time signatures — all spiraling around a foundation of straightahead jazz improvisation while delving into a range of distinct non-jazz traditions — the program maintains a heightened feeling of intensity from start to finish. Even during its more reflective, balladic moments, The Longest Way Around (Rosenblum’s fifth overall release as a leader) seems to hurtle through space and time with strong-force cohesion and unbound momentum. While Rosenblum’s piano playing on several tracks is exceptional, and his bandmembers go deep in their numerous solo spotlights, the leader’s mind-blowing and heart-melting accordion chops — along with his uncanny ability to blend his stomach-Steinway with horns and guitar in a hard-bop esthetic — are the main attraction here. Starting with the J-Pop-inspired changes of “Merengue x Fantasy” and continuing through pieces like the Irish-inflected “Sheridan’s Reel,” the introspective three-part suite “Scenes Frozen In Time,” “Círculo” (built upon West African rhythms shared by Zweig after a trip to Cameroon), the steady-sailing tack of the reggae/ska number “Blue Water,” the straightahead-leaning “Albatross” and “Fool’s Gold” (with direct nods to classic hard-bop icons) and closing with the neo-soul vibe of “Last Call,” Rosenblum effortlessly integrates the frequently underestimated instrument into his all-enveloping musical vision.
When he’s not touring with stars like Rickie Lee Jones, Catherine Russell and Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia, or performing with bassist Curtis Lundy at festivals alongside jazz luminaries Bobby Watson, Sean Jones and Warren Wolf, the tireless Rosenblum is known to spend a lot of time on the road fronting his own ensembles and performing solo. Among numerous gigs scheduled for this year, he’ll bring the Nebula Project to Smalls in New York to play a CD release party on Feb. 26, and the group will make subsequent appearances at Miami’s Pinecrest Gardens on March 14 and Abington Presbyterian Church in Abington, Pennsylvania, on June 7.
