Joel Ross - The Parables

High energy, complex harmonies and ecstatic rhythms. Over the past few years, Joel Ross has distinguished himself as a defining voice among a new generation of American jazz musicians, and is building up an increasingly dedicated audience.

Joel Ross, who grew up in Chicago and is today part of the New York scene, made his debut on the legendary record company Blue Note Records in 2019, and in recent years has played on a multitude of stages and festivals in both the USA and Europe with various projects. Now we finally get to hear him in Norway with the eight-man band ‘Parables’, where he brings with him seven other tone-setting and prominent musicians from today’s American jazz scene. The project is based on the record “The Parable of the Poet”, a grandiose album that has been praised by critics, musicians and the public alike.

The eventually highly recognized and award-winning vibraphonist has become particularly well-known for how he explores improvisation and written composition in an occasionally lyrical expression that is rooted in both melody and phrasing, but still not without chewing resistance and sharper edges. Ross shifts between different roles in the music, from storyteller, to protagonist and supporting character. He plays the moment, allowing moods to settle, linger and transform.