''Better Angels'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist Peter Bernstein. It was recorded in 2024 and released later that year by

Smoke Sessions Records Smoke Sessions Records is an independent jazz record label based in New York City. History Smoke jazz club started the label in 2014.Hovan, C. Andrew (April 23, 2014"Smoke Sessions: A Threesome from Herring, Jackson, & Hazeltine" AllAboutJazz. T ...

Background

Bernstein and pianist

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, touring and recording while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quar ...

had recorded together several times previously. Bernstein was contacted by

around three weeks before the recording, proposing to record him with Mehldau and drummer

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (January 18, 1943 – May 28, 2025) was an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-1960s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and Swing music, swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and ...

. They added bassist

Vicente Archer Vicente Archer (born in Woodstock, New York ) is an American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader having performed with John Scofield, Nicholas Payton, Robert Glasper, Norah Jones, Amos Lee and many others. He has appeared on 5 Grammy Nominate ...

, who had played on Foster's previous Smoke Sessions recording.

Music and recording

The album was recorded on April 1, 2024, at Studio A,

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

, New York City. The material is a mix of standards and originals. There were no rehearsals. "No Problem" is a Latin jazz composition by

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

. As the record label intended to release an LP version of the album, Bernstein decided to record two solo tracks – one to end each side of the LP.

Release and reception

''Better Angels'' was released by

on September 27, 2024. The ''

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'' is a British monthly magazine focused on jazz, launched in 1997. The magazine covers a range of jazz sub-genres and provides news coverage, a national gig guide, a jazz-on-film page, feature articles, and a review section that evalua ...

'' reviewer concluded: "It's a classy, slow-cookin' record that consistently hits the spot."

Track listing

# "Perpetual Pendulum" – 6:28 # "Ditty for Dewey" – 6:11 # "

You Go to My Head "You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. Many versions of the song have been recorded, and it has since become a pop and jazz standard. Melody and lyrics Alec Wilder terms Coots' melod ...

" – 6:17 # " Born to Be Blue" – 2:54 # "Better Angels" – 5:53 # "Hazel Eyes" – 6:08 # "No Problem" – 5:53 # "Lament" – 3:47 Source:

Personnel

* Peter Bernstein – guitar *

– piano *

– bass *

– drums

References

{{authority control 2024 albums Albums recorded at Power Station Peter Bernstein albums