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8-panel Digipak Album
“The guitarist’s trademark sound and phrasing are clear and present, his impeccable timing resonating with the humming groove established by the luxury bass/drums combo of Peter Washington and Joe Farnsworth. Sullivan Fortner, though, is the X-factor, his unorthodox textural pianism conjuring wisps of Bernstein’s longtime collaborator, Brad Mehldau.”
— Gary Fukushima, Downbeat
“Throughout this recording, Bernstein stays mostly in the forefront, so it’s easy to focus on his fluid lines, but the album becomes even more enjoyable when listening closely to the rhythm section, which, as stated, is as good as it gets for straight-ahead jazz.”
— Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
“As one might expect, the collection of tunes is a straight-ahead romp, with a spirit of true adventurism. There is a marvelous chemistry which provides a flowing and moving sense of dynamics.”
— Paul Rauch, All About Jazz
***
The acclaimed jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein emerges from quarantine with a scintillating new quartet album, WHAT COMES NEXT, featuring Grammy-winning pianist Sullivan Fortner (Cécile McLorin Salvant, Roy Hargrove), drummer and frequent collaborator Joe Farnsworth (McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis) and for the first time on one of the guitarist’s own sessions by the always exquisite bassist Peter Washington (Bill Charlap, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers). The set features a series of Bernstein originals including the quarantine penned “What Comes Next” and the haunting “Empty Streets.” The rich program also includes Dizzy Gillespie’s beloved Con Alma, a beautiful rendition of the elegant Standard and 2020 anthem “We’ll Be Together Again,” and a joyful, album closing “Newark News,” a previously unrecorded calypso written by Sonny Rollins.
Although the title certainly echoes the question on the many minds of many–locked away, wary of leaving the house during a global pandemic, divided by politics and protests, all during a fractious U.S. Presidential election year –Bernstein very deliberately left off the question mark. While the interrogative continues to apply, especially for musicians in a world without gigs, Bernstein set out to make a statement as well.
“Without the question mark, WHAT COMES NEXT implies that you have some idea, some intention,” Bernstein explains. “That seems like such a huge concept now, but it’s inherent to the very idea of playing jazz. It’s the basic question that we deal with all the time when we’re given the freedom to improvise: now what do I play? What note should come next? Where are we in the conversation? With everybody’s lives being put on hold, that idea can be extended beyond the fact of just playing music.”
released October 18, 2020
Peter Bernstein – guitar
Sullivan Fortner – piano
Peter Washington – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums
Recorded Live on June 25, 2020
at Sear Sound Studio C, New York
Produced by Paul Stache & Damon Smith
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Chris Allen
Liner Notes by Steve Futterman
Photography by Jimmy & Dena Katz
Design by Damon Smith & Paul Stache
