Classical Music

This debut album from the John Yao Quintet signals the definitive arrival of trombonist and composer, John Yao. Demonstrating a broad textural palette and drawing from an array of stylistic influences, Yao explores the concept of opposing forces. In the Now is a musical journey beyond conventional jazz form and structure, with the ensemble winding skillfully through a wide range of moods, colors, and textures.

2021 release. The defining blues voice of his generation releases the eagerly-anticipated follow-up to his Grammy-nominated debut, 2019's Kingfish. 662 (the area code of his Clarksdale stomping grounds) is a powerful and personal album, a fiery coming-of-age record. The lyrics reflect Ingram's newfound maturity and how your roots inspire where you're heading. Musically, the record delivers a heaping helping of the deep, visceral Ingram guitar magic his fans love, fueling a combustible mix of molten blues rock, down home shuffles and soulful grooves.

A chance to host The Musicians' Show on Columbia University's WKCR made Ingram decide to explore jazz's use as a protest music. The music that he leaned toward was not overtly or loudly political, it did not catch the listener by force and volume. It tended to use subtle communication through the music. Herbie Hancock's "The Prisoner" and Milton Nascimento's "Fairy Tale Song" were perfect examples of artists thoughtfully utilizing their craft to generate nuanced and affecting messages.

2017 release. Pianist-composer Randy Ingram has put himself in a position to reveal more about his musical identity by scaling down to record The Wandering, a sophisticated, personal and enlightening duo album with bassist Drew Gress. For Ingram's debut performance at Mezzrow, bassist Drew Gress was his ideal duo partner. Ingram soon decided to record a duo album with Gress. They performed additional gigs and lined up a date at Brooklyn Recording with engineer Michael Perez Cisneros.

SKY / LIFT