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Six years after Live to Tape, Alex Wintz returns with Collage. The album lives up to its title.
The guitarist and composer stitches together travel memories, family milestones, pandemic reflections and musical influences from across the jazz diaspora. Recorded in a single day with bassist Matt Penman, drummer Jimmy MacBride and pianist Victor Gould on select tracks, Collage captures a band that sounds both spontaneous and deeply road-tested.
“Pondhop,” the energetic opener, reflects Wintz’s globe-trotting experiences, particularly his travels through the Caribbean while performing with trumpeter Etienne Charles. The tune blends blues inflections, African guitar phrasing and modern jazz harmony into a rhythmically buoyant travelogue. It’s an ideal introduction to a record shaped by motion and cultural exchange.
“Apt 3C” turns inward. Inspired by Wintz settling into a New York space with his family, the composition unfolds patiently, mirroring the emotional process of building a home and life. Wintz’s guitar tone — warm, articulate, and unmistakably guitaristic — reveals his recent shift toward embracing the instrument’s natural bends, textures, and expressive quirks rather than treating it like a piano substitute.
“Better Half,” dedicated to Wintz’s wife Francesca, offers one of the most lyrical moments on Collage. The melody floats over dense rhythmic figures before giving way to a fiery drum solo from MacBride that provides one of the album’s climactic peaks. W
Wintz also ventures outside the typical jazz repertoire with a thoughtful interpretation of “Isn’t It a Pity” by George Harrison. Drawn from his classic album All Things Must Pass, the tune becomes a reflective instrumental meditation that captures the emotional gravity of Harrison’s lyrics without uttering a word.
“Innings Eater” — named after the baseball term for a pitcher who quietly endures game after game — reveals Wintz’s dry sense of humor and self-awareness. The tune swings confidently while subtly nodding to the endurance required to survive a long career in jazz.
“It’s Been a Minute,” the closing track, feels like a celebration of the post-pandemic return to the New York jazz community. Built as a blowing vehicle, it allows the quartet to stretch out in a spirited reminder that live jazz culture — once uncertain — has regained its pulse.
At its core, this LP documents change: a new home, new family rhythms, renewed creative direction, and a guitarist increasingly comfortable sounding like himself. By blending personal narrative with a wide palette of global influences, Alex Wintz delivers his most complete artistic statement yet.
Collage feels exactly like what its title suggests: It’s a carefully assembled mosaic of moments that together form a vivid portrait of a musician in motion.
- Alex Wintz – ‘Collage’ (2026) - April 26, 2026
- Dennis Atlas – ‘Principle’ (2026) - April 19, 2026
- Edward Simon – ‘Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2’ (2026) - April 11, 2026
