Sound Business

Trombonist Robert Edwards steps out from his big band gigs with Roy Hargrove and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars to record his debut album for D Clef Records, showcasing his impeccable chops and swinging approach. With help from star bassist Linda Oh, young lions Zaccai Curtis (piano) Mark Whitfield Jr.. (drums) Michael Dease (tenor saxophone) and trumpeter Keyon Harrold (Jay Z, Beyoncé, Charles Tolliver), Edwards explores an eclectic set of originals and compositions by Cedar Walton, Steve Turre, Thelonious Monk and others. In the liner notes, author and trumpeter Claudio Roditi notes that Edwards' facility evokes the clarity and nimbleness of a valve instrument, as in a valve trombone. In this exciting set of music, Edwards is raising the bar at the tender age of 25.