Star Mountain [CD]

Otherlands Trio is the new band formation of bassist and composer Stephan Crump, bringing together three of the most prominent voices on the New York jazz scene: Darius Jones and Eric McPherson. On their fascinating debut album, the trio celebrates their dynamic, magnetically charged music, which arises from the pursuit of ego dissolution and spiritual community. Attentive observers will surely notice a nomenclatural connection to an earlier collaboration between Crump and McPherson, the Borderlands Trio. Between 2017 and 2024, this band, with Kris Davis on piano, recorded three highly acclaimed albums. When it became apparent that this project was on hiatus, McPherson and Crump agreed that they wanted to continue their collaboration in order to find new ways to continue and expand their shared energy and skills. In Darius Jones, they found the perfect partner: "Above all, they liked each other, especially the way Jones immediately fit into and built on the spontaneous worlds McPherson and Crump created," writes Grayson Haver Currin in the liner notes, adding: "These tracks deliver on the promise of being 'different,' with three people sharing every emerging feeling in 46 breathtaking minutes, without fear, without hesitation, and without judgment."