Label: Endectomorph Records, 2026

Personnel - Kevin Sun: tenor saxophone; Max Light: guitar; Simón Willson: bass; Aaron Seeber: drums.

Willber Sunlight is the recently formed quartet of saxophonist Kevin Sun, guitarist Max Light, bassist Simón Willson, and drummer Aaron Seeber. The album, which celebrates jazz tradition and the friendship between these New York-based artists, features one original composition by each member alongside four thoughtfully selected covers, showing that the band can illuminate the music of masters such as Thelonious Monk, Robert Schumann, and Horace Silver.

Sun’s swinging romp “Belong, Sonny”, whose title is an anagram of Benny Golson’s name, is a contrafact of his classic “Stablemates”. Rhythmically defiant, the piece is anything but static, featuring impish soloing by Light and Sun. The latter’s improvisation unfolds with pitch-perfect articulation, inventive motivic development, and a soulful expressive quality.

Willson’s “Easy Listening” develops with cool assurance, bringing together elements of pop, rock, and jazz. Light and Sun alternate solos with a solid mutual understanding, engaging in a communicative musical dialogue. Light’s “Bagel” embraces a relaxed pace and unaffected demeanor while revealing subtle details that showcase not only his compositional adroitness but also the quartet’s cohesion.

The band puts a fresh face on “Tea For Two”, played with confident uptempo drive, and Schumann’s “Des Abends”, whose gentle cross-rhythms and jazz-inflected arrangement make it feel like an entirely new creation. Monk’s “Locomotive” is an earworm that favors propulsion over abrasion, swinging lusciously from beginning to end.

Following Horace Silver’s celebrated ballad “Peace”, anchored by Seeber’s thoughtfully sizzling brushwork and Willson’s illustrative bass foundation, the album concludes with Seeber’s bop-infused “Teranga Bounce”, a joyful tribute to Charlie Parker that sounds as though it could have come straight from the bebop era.

Willber Sunlight invites enjoyment without necessarily lingering in the memory. It is an engaging listen—an unambiguous ode to jazz tradition and its enduring vitality.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Belong, Sonny ► 04 - Bagel ► 05 - Des Abends

Label: Blue Note Records, 2025

Personnel - Ben Solomon: tenor saxophone; Aaron Parks: piano; Ben Street: acoustic bass; Billy Hart: drums.

The work of pianist and composer Aaron Parks has long earned recognition for its lyricism, inventiveness, and balance between modernity and tradition. On By All Means, featuring seven tuneful originals—some newly penned, others revisited—Parks reunites with his Find the Way (ECM, 2017) trio mates, bassist Ben Street and drummer Billy Hart, expanding the lineup into a multi-generational quartet with the addition of rising saxophonist Ben Solomon, a former member of Wallace Roney’s band.

Leaning toward the introspective, the album opens with the harmonically sophisticated rubato ballad “A Way”. Hart’s expert brushwork, Street’s abstract yet groovy commentary, and Parks’ sculpted piano textures create an intimate, hovering atmosphere. Keith Jarrett often comes to mind here, particularly as Solomon’s supple saxophone tone glides over the trio’s musing rhythmic fabric with striking emotional range.

“Park’s Lope”—a self-portrait of sorts—flows with post-bop elegance, beginning with a magnetic pulse that eases into a lilting, lightly propulsive cadence supporting heartfelt solos from both Parks and Solomon. The pianist’s phrasing and harmonic sense reveal hints of Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, yet he remains unmistakably himself.

Unlike Parks’ Little Big project, which leaned toward indie and electronic textures, By All Means stays closer to the jazz tradition, exploring song form and improvisational depth with unhurried focus. Two family tributes provide emotional anchors: “For Maria José”, dedicated to his wife, unfolds as a mid-tempo 4/4 ballad of gratitude and grace; while “Little River”, written for his eldest son Lucas, takes shape as a stately 3/4 tune with a flowing melody and gently breezing harmonic progression. Parks’ lyrical soloing feels effortlessly expressive, and Solomon’s follow-up brims with the spiritual warmth of Coltrane and the intense vibration of Sonny Rollins.

Composed when Parks was still a teenager, “Anywhere Together” receives an invigorating treatment from the rhythm section—its swinging vitality testifying to both elegance and maturity. Hart’s drumming, marked by deft cymbal accents and impeccable dynamic sense, remains a highlight throughout. In turn, the laid-back closer, “Raincoat”, inspired by electronic artist Baths, settles into a sultry Latinized groove, with Street and Hart providing a supple, understated foundation.

By All Means would catch on a general audience as this well-connected quartet offers a deeply-felt set of sympathetic jazz music.