Named one of 2025's top 100 jazz albums by Bill Milkowski
Once again, I just couldn't stop at ten.
Once again, I just couldn't stop at ten.
This tasty double LP set features some innovative and enticing new Jazz compositions along with a few novel covers of some classics. While I am not familiar with Bob Schlesinger’s work personally, his skill as a piano player and a composer/bandleader is more than readily apparent here. The supporting musicians include guitar virtuoso Mike Stern, Eddie Gomez (yes, he who performed extensively with the late Bill Evans) on acoustic bass, and Billy Drummond on drums.
Seldom does an album deliver such stylistic and emotional diversity. The long wait for Schlesinger to release an album of his own was indeed worth it.
Mike Stern-powered debut albums, pastoral projects, and a J.J. Cale-tinged antidote to worry make up a playlist well worth your time.
It’s been seven long years since pianist Bob Schlesinger first began working on his long-anticipated debut as a leader, Falling From Earth.
But in early August, the toil paid off when this astonishing album, featuring an all-star lineup featuring legendary guitarist Mike Stern, former Bill Evans bassist Eddie Gomez, in-demand drummer Billy Drummond, as well as bassist Kevin Axt, drummer Steve Hass and others, was released to the public (though still not available on Spotify).
For those not in the know, pianist and composer Bob Schlesinger has just unveiled his highly anticipated debut album as a leader, Falling From Earth.
A project that began in 2018 and was nearly sidelined by the pandemic, the album now emerges as a fully realized statement featuring an all-star lineup: legendary guitarist Mike Stern, former Bill Evans bassist Eddie Gomez, in-demand drummer Billy Drummond, as well as bassist Kevin Axt, drummer Steve Hass, and others.
Early last month, pianist Bob Schlesinger released his debut album as a band leader, Falling From Earth. Spanning 11 tracks, the 79-minute record is a mostly successful first outing for Schlesinger and his fellow musicians. If any one thing can be noted to the negative about the album, it is that like far too many jazz (and instrumental albums) there is no real background on the inspiration behind the compositions. That is not enough to doom the album, though. Knowing this, the album’s production rounds out its most important elements. Each item noted plays its own important part to the whole of the presentation. All things considered they make Falling From Earth a record that modern jazz fans will find worth hearing at least once.
Bob Schlesinger joined KGNU’s Kooter Jones to discuss his new album Falling from Earth, a seven-year project featuring jazz greats Eddie Gomez and Mike Stern. Funded in part by a Pathways to Jazz grant, the recording took place in New York and Boulder, blending original compositions, reimagined covers, and innovative studio work, including the 13-minute track Easy Off Ramp, assembled in the spirit of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. The album is available on digital download, CD, and audiophile vinyl, with an official release concert set for Thursday, August 14th at Dazzle in Denver’s Performing Arts Complex.
Neon Jazz is a radio show and interview series created and distributed since 2011. Hatched & Hosted by Joe Dimino out of Kansas City, Missouri. The series has been Engineered and generously supported by John Christopher over thirteen years, hundreds of episodes and thousands of interviews. We celebrate the glory days right on into the innovations of modern players. The aim is to tell the rich story of jazz through the voice of the musician and provide an enticing kaleidoscope of sound and stories. We are always celebrating one of America's finest inventions .. Jazz. Dig in.
Arturo Gomez interviews Bob on his August 12, 2025 KUVO show Lunchtime!