Paul Abella

The Paul Abella Trio is here to get its groove on. Their agenda is simple: to make jazz fun again.

While many bands talk about their eclecticism, the paul abella trio walks the walk. Seamlessly melding Jazz improvisation, Brazilian and funk rhythms and rock tunes, they walk the line between jazz combo and jam band like the Flying Wallendas on a tightrope.

I could regale you with the story of how we all met, came together and started off playing jazz standards before morphing into whatever it is that we are now. But the fact is, that stuff doesn't matter. What does matter is that people are tuning into our brand of people music that claims everything from Bach to breakbeats as influences. A sound that's at once aggressive and breezy, smooth like jazz and crunchy like hippies jamming around a campfire. It's what we call granola jazz.

Awards

The Best Jazz Band of all time - Paul's Mom.

Shawn Maxwell: Expectation & Experience

Read "Expectation & Experience" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 22, 2021

On Expectation & Experience, his tenth recording as a leader, Chicago-based woodwind specialist Shawn Maxwell is accompanied by almost thirty musicians—but never by more than three on any of its seventeen tracks. Maxwell says the compositions were written during the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the musicians were mustered singly, most in their own homes. While each of the compositions has a “theme," none is readily apparent from its performance, and listeners should feel free to overlook that aspect and focus ...