Vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross returns with stunning conviction on 'The Parable of the Poet'.

“Joel is not only one of the preeminent instrumentalists of this era, but he is one of the greatest musical visionaries of his generation.” – Don Was, Blue Note Records

Line-up:

Joel Ross, vibes

Jeremy Corren, piano

Kanoa Mendenhall, bass

Joe Dyson, drums

Joel Ross has been refining an expression that’s true to his sound and his generation. In 2019, the vibraphonist-composer released his anticipated Blue Note debut KingMaker to eruptive critical acclaim. He’s topped the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star category for vibraphone and in 2017, he became one of the youngest artists to receive a coveted Residency Commission from The Jazz Gallery. With the release of Who Are You? (Blue Note, 2020), Ross shares the culmination of a year-long exercise in experimenting and risk-taking on and off the bandstand.

“I’m just so interested in what the listener receives, what they take from it,” he says, “the same as you would from any parable.”

‘The mood of vibraphonist Joel Ross’ third album is frequently twilit, becalmed and imbued with Coltrane-ish spirituality – evidenced by the titles of Prayer, Benediction and Wail – but it also diverts to more unsettled, darker territory, as on Choices. It all flows beautifully, immersing the listener: an album you willingly succumb to.’ AP, The Guardian