Julius Rodriguez
is a builder of crossover jazz worlds on his second studio album, 2024's vibrantly realized
Evergreen
. An immensely gifted keyboardist and improviser,
Rodriguez
is the type of jazz musician who can play anything and often does on
, drawing upon post-bop, folk, and hip-hop sounds. A fan of vintage-sounding synths, he most often evokes the blue-sky stadium-prog energy of artists like
Joe Zawinul
and
Chick Corea
's
Return to Forever
. It's a vibe he builds from the start with "Mission Statement," laying down a breezy synth line over what sounds like an old-school drum machine handclap beat. Other fusion-era-inspired tracks follow, including "Stars Talk," a synthy anthem featuring saxophonist
Emilio Modeste
that sounds like it could accompany a cerebral '70s thriller movie. We also get the album-closing "Champion's Call," a spiraling, odd-time-signature piece built around overlapping vocals from
Georgia Ann Muldrow
that recall the moody electronic work of composer
Jean-Michel Jarre
. While
's keyboard textures have the atmospheric feeling of classic prog rock and fusion, his composing style and knack for crafting hooky melodies is more akin to contemporary crossover pop and R&B. This is especially true on the sad electro-soul ballad "Road Rage," which features heavy, effects-laden vocals from
Jay Adlher
that wouldn't sound out of place on a
Brent Faiyaz
album. There's also the woozy, psych-soul slow jam "Love Everlasting" with trumpeter
Keyon Harrold
, the '90s acid-jazz infused "Around the World," and the Hammond B3-laden gospel number "Run to It (The CP Song)." As dreamlike as some of these productions are, it's the more traditional-sounding songs that seem the most surprising. On "Rise and Shine,"
takes to the acoustic guitar, crafting an intimately folky song with subtle jazz harmonies punctuated by a spritely
Stevie Wonder
-esque keyboard melody. Similarly unexpected, on "Many Times" his sparkling piano and new age synth accents reveal a heartfelt
Bruce Hornsby
influence. One might expect that with all of these varied genre and style explorations,
would feel unwieldy, but
never loses sight of the big picture, crafting a universe out of his influences that's as sonically expansive as it is musically unified. ~ Matt Collar