For those unaware, set for an October 15th, 2021 release, Lasting is the third album by the up-and-coming group of young jazz musicians Echoes.

Reedist Max Bessesen, percussionist Matt DiBiase, Drummer Chase Kuesel, and bassist Evan Levine make up the leaderless collective, whose sound blends futuristic electronica with jazz improvisation, while dabbing with electronic instruments, loops, and triggers for an additional layer of intricacy.

Their music pairs futuristic electronica with focused improvisations to create a sound that is uniquely their own. Inspired by 21st-century musical ideals of cross-pollination and experimentation, the group augments its already unorthodox instrumentation with a variety of electronic instruments, loops, and triggers to explore new sonic and rhythmic territory.

Simply put, each member show off their personal styles throughout, with each composing two of the tracks that make up the album.

1. Jamfest
2. Taylor
3. Off Switch
4. Flipbook
5. Asbury
6. Wasted
7. Attics
8. Lasting

This charismatically translucent new album opens on gently frenetic orchestrations of Jamfest (... a tongue-in-cheek piece for a good time, says Bessesennd) and the simply beautiful, ornately sculptured rhythms of Taylor (which are worked around an adaptation of a beatboxing performance by Taylor McFerrin, which Kuesel adeptly translates to the drum kit) and then we get the emotional landscapes found within the organic Off Switch and the melodic, playful and perky ambiance of the rather delightful Flipbook.

Next up are the layered grooves found within Asbury (which Levine titled after his hometown of Asbury Park, NJ) which is in turn followed by the divinely cultured Wasted (a tale of relationships, nights, sobriety ... all wasted away and explored here in these forlorn at times, gently romantic, yet always contemplative movements), with the album rounding out on the jazz and blues-lite grooves of Attics, closing on the almost ethereally meditative Lasting.

Taken as a whole, Lasting finds an ensemble equally interested in joyful interplay and melancholic reflection. It is a strong and compelling effort, and an important document from an ensemble that is poised to refine its unique voice on the international stage for years to come.

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