For those unaware, as a composer, recording artist and performer, saxophonist Shawn Maxwell has endeavored to express his own unique voice.

From his last album Millstream (Jazzline, 2020) to his debut Originals (self-released, 2005), he has released nine albums of original compositions. Now he releases his tenth album, J Town Suite, and it is yet another masterful musical experience.

The traditions of jazz form the foundation for Shawn’s music; he builds on that with material from the music he grew up with – rock, funk, hip hop, R&B, classical.

The results, as Hrayr Attarian wrote in Chicago Jazz Magazine, “are refreshingly distinct yet recognizably Maxwellian”. Ergo, he’s not intent on following any rules – or on breaking them – but on continually expanding what his music encompasses.

1. Steelmen March (6:53)
2. Fries or Rings in the Back (8:16)
3. Herald’s News (1:47)
4. In the Shadow of Statesville (5:32)
5. Jerry (6:52)
6. Tap, Keg & Tavern (2:37)
7. Hickory Street (1:58)
8. Bridge Closed (5:18)
9. Ghost Mall on Jefferson (3:19)

This brilliantly sculpted new recording opens on the rhythmically regimented Steelmen March and the melodically fantastical Fries or Rings in the Back, before then bring us the short, but sweet, perky Herald’s News and the languishing, veritably shimmering In the Shadow of Statesville.

Along next is the sprightly Jerry and the effervescent, yet cultured Tap, Keg & Tavern, and they are in turn backed by the upbeat and jaunty Hickory Street, the album rounding out on the affluent Bridge Closed, closing on an aching yearn found winding through Ghost Mall on Jefferson.

www.shawnmaxwell.com