James Brandon Lewis climbed up the ladder of prestige in the jazz space by paying his dues, making provocative music that’s respectful of past masters while pushing ahead with a vision that looks forward. Even now after attaining the top rung, Lewis’ hunger to prove himself to be a composer, tenor saxophone player and bandleader of the highest order remains as strong as ever. That drive manifests itself consistently from his regular quartet with Aruán Ortiz (piano), Brad Jones (bass) and Chad Taylor(drums), and here he is proving it again.
Abstraction Is Deliverance (May 30 2025, Intakt Records) is the fifth release by the James Brandon Lewis Quartet, coming fairly fast on the heels of 2024’s treasure, Transfiguration. The hurried pace of production hadn’t seem to impaired the quality of work, as this one easily stands alongside the prior four Quartet albums as an exemplar for advanced composition, interplay and all wrapped up into a holistic package. Lewis and his Quartet makes music that recalibrates jazz back to a spiritual focus but in a modern context. It’s music made in the mind, heard by the ears but also stays in the heart.
It’s hard not to listen to how “Ware” unfolds and not think of “Part I – Acknowledgement” from A Love Supreme, but no one here are carbon copies of Coltrane, Tyner, Garrison or Jones. Lewis for his part, devotes his chops toward singing unwritten lyrics, making his song not merely a song but a chant. “Per 7” also hearkens back to sixties jazz in its modalism, an incantation that Jones underpins with his hypnotic bass line that Lewis uses as his north star.
Lewis’ direct approach means you’ll be able to discern the melody straight from the bell of his saxophone as he for “Left Alone,” where he once again taking on the role of a vocalist. The rhythm section accentuates and the tonal space for him as Jones saws the bass solemnly and Taylor lightly taps the toms with mallets. The leader makes way for Ortiz, who slowly unspools a soul stirring, melodious run on piano.
“Polaris” is richly layered in subtleties in spite of a straightforward (but timeless) melody. Ortiz comps beautifully behind Lewis and then come to the fore with a heady and emotionally intense solo. Taylor’s calypso flavored drums modulates upward in volume just so to bring the song to its concluding apex just before it softly arrives at its destination. “Mr. Crick” sees Lewis getting down on the blues, while Ortiz’s unusual chord choices adds just a touch of unsettledness that sets this apart from a mere genre exercise.
The titular song “Abstraction Is Deliverance” is this collection’s most propulsive track, where the memorable circular theme sandwiches a perfectly modulated, fervid tenor saxophone presentation. The delicate, searching “Multicellular Beings” benefits from a minimal involvement from the backing band, whose gaunt contributions matter in setting the mood for Lewis.
Lewis has rightly made Taylor an indispensable part of the JBL Quartet’s makeup; listen to how the drummer controls the flow of “Remember Rosalind,” adding another layer of intrigue to a composition already full of them. Taylor and Jones together offer up an ambiguous rhythm on “Even The Sparrow,” which allows Lewis and Ortiz to let the main theme flow out gracefully unencumbered by time keeping.
The James Brandon Lewis Quartet is an eminent ensemble for a number of good reasons and every one of those reasons can be found on Abstraction Is Deliverance. Pre-order/order Abstraction Is Deliverance from Bandcamp.
*** James Brandon Lewis CDs and vinyl on Amazon ***
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