Cory Henry
R+R=Now
Badbadnotgood

Since John Medeski, modern successors to Jimmy Smith (and Lonnie Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Joey DeFrancesco, etc.) have not exactly been queuing up. But all of a sudden Cory Henry came along! Behind his double keyboard, the organist of the band Snarky Puppy is putting a fresh take on the Hammond B3. The 31-year-old from New York has a CV marked by his collaborations with Kenny Garrett, Lalah Hathaway, The Roots and Bruce Springsteen. He began working when he was 19 years old with saxophonist Kenny Garrett who he accompanied for three years, then with gospel artist Kirk Franklin and Robert Glasper, Boyz 2 Men and NAS. In 2015, he was heading his own sextet - The Funk Apostles. Although influenced by Art Tatum, funk remains at the heart of Cory Henry’s music, which zigzags between jazz fusion and gospel, and electro and hip-hop. The future of music will not be possible without Cory Henry who covers Coltrane, Stevie Wonder and The Beatles with the same originality (The Revival album - 2016).

Line-up : Cory Henry (voc, k, org), Nick Semrad (k), Adam Agati (g), Sharay Reed (b), Brenton Taron Lockett (dms), Denise Stoudmire (voc), Tiffany Stevenson (voc)

Photo : © DR

The saxophonist Terrace Martin, the multi-instrumentalist and producer from Los Angeles, who can be heard in some of the biggest hits of Kendrick Lamar and YG or backing Snoop Dogg, Billy Higgins and Herbie Hancock, has just completed a busy year. Along with the release of “Sounds of Crenshaw Vol.1”, an album by his group The Pollyseeds (with, among others, Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper and Problem), as well as his contribution to the famous “Loyalty” by the duo K. Lamar/Rihanna, he has produced the latest album by YG and toured with Herbie Hancock, whose current work he is also producing. To round off the year, he whipped up the crowds last year with Robert Glasper and a real Who’s Who in contemporary US jazz (see line-up) in the supergroup concept named R+R=Now. The pianist Robert Glasper announced and described the project to Billboard: “we all come from the same concrete garden and we make fluid, honest and open music ranging from jazz, hip hop and EDM to reggae!”

Line up :Robert Glasper (k), Terrace Martin (sax), Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah (tp), Derrick Hodge (b), Justin Tyson (dms), Taylor McFerrin (k, v)

Photo : © DR

Well known for their interpretations of hip-hop songs and their work with Frank Ocean and Tyler The Creator, the group Badbadnotgood hails from Toronto (Ontario, Canada) and was originally formed because of a shared love for the worlds of Odd Future, Gucci Mane and Lil B. Badbadnotgood features Matthew Tavares on keyboards, Chester Hansen on bass, Leland Whitty on saxophone and Alexander Sowinski on drums. A fun-loving band of mates brought up on post-bop, beatmaking and electronica, jazz and improvised music, they have forged a solid community on the social networks and now work with the producer Frank Dukes (50 Cent, Danny Brown, Ghostface Killah). Their fourth album, simply titled “IV”, has just been released. It features contributions from Mick Jenkins, Kaytranada, Colin Stetson and Charlotte Day Wilson. Badbadnotgood: “not a cover band, not a jazz rap group, but jazz for the soul and mind!”

Line-up : Matthew Tavares (k), Chester Hansen (b), Leland Whitty (sax), et Alexander Sowinski (dms)

Photo : © C. Olthuis