Blue Note All-Stars

The debut album from the second iteration of the Blue Note All-Stars, 2017's Our Point of View is an ambitious, highly rewarding double-disc set from the 21st century jazz supergroup. Brought together by Blue Note president and album co-producer Don Was, this version of the Blue Note All-Stars features pianist and album co-producer Robert Glasper, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Kendrick Scott. Each a highly gifted and well-respected solo artist in his own right, together they've come up with an album that avoids the normal clichés of building an all-star supergroup. Rather than play a loose set of well-worn standards, the Blue Note All-Stars focus on original compositions that highlight their own maverick, individualist tendencies. Thankfully, they also play wonderfully as an ensemble and are able to zero in on a sound that works for each member as part of the greater whole. Cuts like Scott's "Cycling Through Reality" and Hodge's "Second Light" have a flowing architecture that balances a roiling, avant-garde improvisational flair with tightly wound contemporary rhythms.