JOEL ROSS RELEASES FOURTH BLUE NOTE ALBUM NUBLUES
A SET OF BALLADS & BLUES FEATURING IMMANUEL WILKINS, JEREMY CORREN, KANOA MENDENHALL, JEREMY DUTTON & SPECIAL GUEST GABRIELLE GARO
WATCH A LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO OF “EARLY”
9 FEBRUARY 2024 (TORONTO, ON) — Acclaimed vibraphonist Joel Ross has released his fourth Blue Note album nublues, a set of ballads and blues as seen through the lens of one of the most creative modern jazz groups of our time featuring Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Jeremy Corren on piano, Kanoa Mendenhall on bass, and Jeremy Dutton on drums, as well as special guest Gabrielle Garo on flute. The band moves seamlessly across the blues-imbued musical terrain of this 10-track set which includes seven new Ross originals as well as pieces by John Coltrane (“equinox” and “central park west”) and Thelonious Monk (“evidence”). Ross discusses the story behind the music with Blue Note President Don Was on “First Look.”
Ross is currently touring the U.S. with The Blue Note Quintet, an all-star band of labelmates including Wilkins, pianist Gerald Clayton, and drummer Kendrick Scott, as well as bassist Matt Brewer—in celebration of Blue Note’s 85th Anniversary. The band performs in San Diego, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and more over the coming month before Ross brings his band to Europe in April. See below for a full list of tour dates.
WATCH ROSS ON “FIRST LOOK” WITH DON WAS
The genesis of nublues dates back to 2020 when, during the Covid pandemic as live performances were shut down, Ross went back to the New School to finish his degree. One of his classes was taught by the alto saxophonist Darius Jones, who nudged students to dig into the history of the blues. That led Ross down a rabbit hole of what the blues can be; it isn’t just a 12-bar form. He realized it was a feeling. “Sort of a spirit or an energy,” Ross says. “It’s emotion, it’s expression. But I also want to stay true to the rhythmic ideations that we’ve already been developing. I don’t really tell the band how to play anything. What I do tell them is to stay connected and make everything we do related to each other. And play the blues, however that comes off.”
In that way, nublues is a vast record with various entry points, an invitation to choose your own adventure. When asked what he wants to convey with this LP, Ross hesitates. “I don't want my personal experience to be what people are thinking about when they're experiencing it,” he says. “I generally want people to be able to come in and hear the music and interpret it through their own lens.”
“I enjoyed the journey of diving into learning about the blues and understanding the history of the blues, really focusing on developing this band’s sound and band structure,” he says. “For me, it was just about the journey that came from getting into all of the information and figuring out what it was going to be. It’s a constant continuing.”
NUBLUES IS OUT NOW ON VINYL, CD & DIGITAL
THE BLUE NOTE QUINTET – TOUR DATES:
Feb. 9 - Irvine Barclay Theatre - Irvine, CA
Feb. 10 - The Baker-Baum Concert Hall - La Jolla, CA
Feb. 14 - The Alluvion - Traverse City, MI
Feb. 15 - Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, PA
Feb. 16 - Symphony Center - Chicago, IL
Feb. 17 - Lawrence Memorial Chapel - Appleton, WI
Feb. 18 - Pablo Center - Eau Clare, WI
Feb. 20 - Portsmouth Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH
Feb. 21 - Groton Hill Music - Groton, MA
Feb. 22 - UMass Fine Arts Center Concert Hall - Amherst, MA
Feb. 23 - Symphony Space - New York, NY
Feb. 24 - Manchester Craftmen's Guild - Pittsburgh, PA
Feb. 25 - FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre - St. Catharines, Ontario
March 1 - Gallo Center for the Performing Arts - Modesto, CA
March 2 - The Smith Center for the Performing Arts - Las Vegas, NV
March 3 - The Smith Center for the Performing Arts - Las Vegas, NV
March 5 - Empire Theatre - San Antonio, TX
March 6 - Manship Theatre - Baton Rouge, LA
March 7 - Dazzle - Denver, CO
March 8 - Riverwalk Center - Breckenridge, CO
JOEL ROSS – TOUR DATES:
April 9 – Cloud Nine @ TivoliVredenburg – Utrecht, Netherlands
April 10 – New Morning – Paris, France
April 11 – Vortex Jazz Club – London, UK
April 13 – Opus Jazz Club – Budapest, Hungary
April 16 – Kulturzentrum Schlachthof – Bremen, Germany
April 17 – Stadtgarten Europäisches Zentrum für Jazz und Aktuelle Musik – Koln, Germany
April 18 – Kunstverein Familie Montez – Frankfurt, Germany
April 19 – Recoletos Jazz Madrid – Madrid, Spain
April 20 – Recoletos Jazz Madrid – Madrid, Spain
PHOTO BY BRUCE BENNETT | DOWNLOAD HI-RES
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