Joel Ross releases new album 'The Parable of the Poet"
OUT NOW ON BLUE NOTE RECORDS

“Joel is not only one of the preeminent instrumentalists of this era, but he is one of the greatest musical visionaries of his generation ”
– Don Was, Blue Note Records

“It’s clear that Ross is just getting started”
– Pitchfork

“The bright future stretching before Ross has as much to do with that emotional expression as anything that happens between his mallets and those metal bars ”
– NPR

For the past several years, Joel Ross has been refining an expression that’s true to his sound and his generation. In 2019, the vibraphonist-composer released his anticipated Blue Note debut KingMaker to eruptive critical acclaim. He’s topped the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star category for vibraphone and in 2017, he became one of the youngest artists to receive a coveted Residency Commission from The Jazz Gallery. With the release of Who Are You? (Blue Note, 2020), Ross shares the culmination of a year-long exercise in experimenting and risk-taking on and off the bandstand.

NEW ALBUM
Vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross returns with stunning conviction on The Parable of the Poet, an expansive album-length suite composed by Ross which embodies his collaborative spirit and finds him exploring new territory with his 8-piece Parables band featuring Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, Maria Grand on tenor saxophone, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Kalia Vandever on trombone, Sean Mason on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, Craig Weinrib on drums, and special guest Gabrielle Garo on flute. The Parable of the Poet is out now on exclusive D2C color vinyl, CD, and digital formats, with black vinyl to follow on May 20.
Ross’ vision for the music is at once explicit and mysterious. Each title of the 7-movement suite references an emotional decision or experience for Ross, and he seeks to express themes present in parable tellings and retellings, while leaving each story’s particulars open to interpretation. Ross rarely includes narrative explanations of anything he plays. He leaves his own motivations unvoiced, allowing both listeners and bandmates their unique, experiential readings of the music. “I’m just so interested in what the listener receives, what they take from it,” he says, “the same as you would from any parable.”