GENRE; Jazz
RELEASE DATE; 5 December, 2025
RATING; 4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Out Of/Into’s Motion II is an elegant, restless continuation of the group’s first album — a compact, 39-minute statement that balances modern fire with Blue Note tradition. The record, released December 5, 2025, finds pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Kendrick Scott operating as a tight collective whose solos feel earned rather than showy.
From the opening phrases the band privileges momentum: grooves morph into interlocking figures, and Clayton’s compositions act as both map and provocation. The vibraphone’s chiming textures add a shimmering counterpoint to Wilkins’ incisive lines, while Brewer and Scott provide a pliant but insistent foundation that keeps each tune moving forward. On tracks like the single “Familiar Route” the group demonstrates how lyricism can coexist with adventurous rhythmic displacement.
Producerly clarity gives Motion II a live-in-the-room immediacy — instruments breathe and the ensemble’s dynamic contours register with crisp detail. Arrangements pivot between lean, conversational passages and fuller, hard-swinging statements; this ebb and flow reveals the band’s democratic instincts, where composition and improvisation continually feed one another.
Where Motion I felt like an introduction, Motion II reads like a conversation in midstream: more assured, occasionally playful, and often quietly profound. The album honors Blue Note’s lineage while staking out a contemporary vantage, reminding listeners why this collective feels like more than a label showcase. It’s a concise record that rewards repeated listens — each spin reveals subtle compositional turns and empathetic interplay.
Standout moments include a meditative closer that treats silence as an instrument and a mid-album piece driven by a persistent rhythmic motif. Listeners from straight-ahead and adventurous scenes will find accessible entry points alongside layered complexity — Motion II both honors lineage and points compellingly toward the future. Highly recommended for curious jazz fans.
