feature photo: Christopher Andrews
Hearts & Minds is the aptly named vehicle for scratching some electro-acoustic outlier jazz itches for Jason Stein, Paul Giallorenzo and Chad Taylor. At the beginning of 2025, they broke a six plus-year hiatus to put forth Illuminescence.
Illuminescence (Astral Spirits) is the 20 year old band’s third offering, following the 2016 self-titled debut and the 2018 second helping Electroradiance.
Stein, Giallorenzo and Taylor have all been connected to Chicago’s rich history in forward-pushing jazz, from avant music scene of Chicago stretching from the AACM gestation in the 60’s to the post-rock innovations of Tortoise in the 90s and the various Rob Mazurek-led Chicago Underground projects since then. Emulating the sonic topography of 70’s formative fusion, Hearts & Minds staked out their own niche with a provocative mixture of funk and free jazz, offering an originative combination of Giallorenzo’s retro electronic keyboard sand Stein’s unbound bass clarinet.
Illuminescence tweaks the formula by their opting for shorter tunes that make more laconic statements. In that way, they align themselves a little closer in style to the Chicago Underground Duo, the percussionist half of that innovative ensemble being the same Chad Taylor, and he is just as inventive, adaptive and virtuosic in Hearts & Minds.
“Counterpoint” probably refers to the explosive countermeasures Taylor deploys against the almost sing-song melody dispersed by Stein and Giallorenzo. The retro-spacey tones from Giallorenzo’s electric piano and analog-y synths on “Particle Field” actually hearkens back to another Chicago figure in Sun Ra, and the bell-bottomed low-end pulses often provide the bass notes. “Horizon” leans into the free side of jazz when Stein cuts loose with brutal bass clarinet quips. Taylor takes charge on “Imaging,” hanging back as the song takes shape and then jumping off and taking Stein along for the ride.
Stein’s versatility serves the trio so well because they rely on the flexibility to shift between melodic grooves and freeform jazz, sometimes mixing both elements together at once, as the reedman handles with deftness for “Turbulence.”
Taylor’s ability to create pockets with rhythms he seems to invent on his own gives these songs a special flair that goes well beyond harmony and improvisation: “Can’t / Won’t” is a second-line groove, loosely speaking, but Taylor puts his own flavor on it in adjusting to the song.
For “On Kilter” Stein’s implacable chops are on full display as he creates advanced bop lines over a wandering procession of chords and then goes completely outside when Taylor introduces a bossa nova pulse. A circular synth-bass figure forms the basis for “Iridescent,” a vamp by Giallorenzo that lets Stein stretch out and explore the outer realms of his reed. Although “Illumination” is also Giallorenzo’s song, Taylor’s reggae beat beneath the simple, repeating motif transforms it into something else.
The nostalgic hues from jazz fusion’s frontier days meshed with the anything-goes freedom of AACM is reason enough to celebrate a new Hearts & Minds release, and Illuminescence is party music for both the heart and the mind.
Get it now from Bandcamp.
*** Jason Stein CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
*** Chicago Underground Duo CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
*** Paul Giallorenzo CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
- Hearts & Minds – ‘Illuminescence’ (2025) - March 11, 2025
- Ivo Perelman, Ken Vandermark + Joe McPhee – ‘Oxygen’ (2025) - March 3, 2025
- Jeff Arnal + Dietrich Eichmann – ‘Tides of Unrest / Berlin 2023’ (2025) - February 26, 2025
