A New Beat

Drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. keeps the hard-swinging bop and soul-jazz traditions alive on the debut album from his Generation Y ensemble, 2024s A New Beat. As an instructor at the Juilliard School, Owens regularly meets a bevy of rising jazz performers. In 2019, drawing inspiration from bands like Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers, he decided to put together a group that showcased some of the most compelling improvisers from the school. While the lineup has shifted somewhat since then, A New Beat is an impressive debut for the group and one that feels seasoned by their extensive live and touring schedule. Much of this is due to Owens, whose dynamic, intensely swinging style propels the group forward throughout the album. Its a style full of big, swaggering personality, much like Blakeys, and has garnered him acclaim and several Grammys for his work with Christian McBride and Kurt Elling. Here, he is the supreme commander, pushing his ensemble of rising stars, most of whom are still under 35. While these arent necessarily teenage young lions, players like trumpeter Benny Benack III and saxophonist Sarah Hanahan are nonetheless still on the cusp of great things and just coming into their own as players. Particularly thrilling is their improvisational sparring on "Bird Lives." They dive headlong into the speedy bop anthem before trading solos, with Hanahans alto squelch recalling the gruff style of Phil Woods, while Benacks rippling lines evoke the athletic artistry of Freddie Hubbard. Similarly engaging is the groups crisply grooving take on Roy Hargroves "Soulful," which features a warm-bodied solo from trumpeter Anthony Hervey. Yet another standout is Benacks "London Towne," a Latin-tinged number with a smiling sophistication that also summons Hargroves ebullient legacy. In addition, we get a warm, gospel-infused vocal from Milton Suggs on "Heart Full of Rhythm" and a greasy album-closing take on the classic Ray Bryant/Art Blakey number "Chicken an Dumplings." While it can be thrilling to hear an artist burn through the boundaries of the jazz tradition, Owens A New Beat proves that keeping the hard bop fires lit for the next generation is just as important and breathtaking. ~ Matt Collar