Definitely distinctive jazz John Bishop – ANTWERP: Believe it or not, in all the years I’ve been reviewing jazz, this is my first encounter with such definitely distinctive jazz as Seattle drummer John Bishop and his bandmates produce for your enjoyment. To give you an idea of their timeless jazz skills, I (most STRONGLY) recommend that you watch this excellent performance from ten years ago, in Brussels, Belgium (a different album, also featuring Chad McCullough on trumpet)…
John is also the founder of the Origin Records label, which is where I first met him… though he doesn’t have his own YouTube channel (that I could find), here’s an excellent (long) interview with him from a year or so ago.
In addition to John’s dynamic drumming, you’ll also hear superb piano from Bram Weijters, and excellent bass from Piet Verbist… there’s a variety of moods they project on the album, but the one that totally floored me is the 6:00 opener, “Rücksichtslos” (“Ruthless”), composed by Bram… the keyword here (for this author/listener, anyway) is “movement”! Six minutes of pulsating jazz purity and pleasure!
This is John’s first album under his name in 15 years, but it certainly shows a level of creativity that few players can achieve… you can preview the album on John’s Spotify page below, or purchase the album on the Origin Records page for the release… this one officially hits the street on 13 November, 2023. I give it a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with a (perfect) “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 5.00 – meaning it also gets a “PICK” from me for “most distinctive jazz trio”.
