Artist: Gregory Hutchinson
Album: Kind of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davis
Genre: Post-Bop, Contemporary Jazz
Label: Warner Music Arts
Released: 2026
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Tracklist:
01. Ah-Leu-Cha (3:53)
02. Fran-Dance (6:51)
03. Fall (7:08)
04. Orbits (4:53)
05. The Masters (1:59)
06. Feio (5:04)
07. Water Babies (4:25)
08. Seven Steps to Heaven (3:52)
09. Bitches Brew (6:53)
10. Black Comedy (5:15)
11. Ellehcem's Time (2:21)
12. Circle in the Round (4:04)
13. I'm Done (0:48)
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Personnel:
Gregory Hutchinson - drums
Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet
Ron Blake - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Jakob Bro, Emmanuel Michael - guitar
Gerald Clayton - piano
Joe Sanders - double bass
Drummer Gregory Hutchinson digs into the heart of Miles Davis' 1960s work with 2026's Kind of Now — The Pulse of Miles Davis. While Davis tribute albums are far from rare, few of them manage to evoke the restless creativity and transformative stylism that marked the trumpeter's career in the '50s in the way Hutchinson does here; moving from romantic balladeer to avant-garde modalist to electrified dark prince of fusion. However, rather than presenting a literal career arc, Hutchinson primarily focuses his attention on Davis' second great quintet, a boldly adventurous group (together from 1964 to 1969) featuring tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, and drummer Tony Williams; using them as both microcosm of Davis' career journey from jazz to jazz-rock and a jumping-off point for his own originals. To do so, he has put together his own boldly adventurous ensemble, featuring trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, tenor saxophonist/bass clarinetist Ron Blake, pianist Gerald Clayton, and bassist Joe Sanders. Also on board are guitarists Jakob Bro and Emmanuel Michael, both of whom also help to evoke Davis' early-'70s recordings with guitarist John McLaughlin. The album moves quickly, taking you from the hard bop grooves of "Ah Leu-Cha," to the sweetly lyrical "Fran-Dance," all the way to the woozy, moonscape fusion of "Bitches Brew." Along the way we get sonically textural readings of "Fall," "Feio," and "Circle in the Round," where Hutchinson seems to push the whole ensemble skyward as if out of a primordial harmonic stew. Although he clearly has a strong grasp on Tony Williams' driving razzle dazzle, Hutchinson's playing is always nuanced and far-reaching, bringing to mind the other drummers Davis worked with after Williams, including Jack DeJohnette, Al Foster, and Billy Hart; all of whom he literally calls out in tribute on his tone poem "The Masters." In that way, Hutchinson also manifests the transitional spirit of Davis' "lost quintet" (with DeJohnette), the group that would pave the way for his fusion ensemble in the '70s. It's that latter sound he conjures on the dream-like "Water Babies" and the hard-swinging free bop of "Black Comedy," where his group improvises at once in a kind of cosmic dance. While Kind of Now masterfully conveys the metamorphic creativity Davis fostered in his quintets and beyond, it's how much you simply get wrapped up in Hutchinson's own elemental group dynamic that sticks with you.
Review by Matt Collar