Joe Block: There Is Always Hope
Blue Engine Records

In featuring him alone, Joe Block's recent Solo Piano, Vol. 1 release provided an in-depth account of his considerable piano artistry and curatorial taste. Now, his third album There Is Always Hope invites a supplementary appreciation of his gifts as a composer and bandleader. With a full ensemble in play, it's only natural for there to be a little less of Block's piano, but there's still more than enough to remind us of his talents in that regard.

Issued on Jazz at Lincoln Center's in-house label Blue Engine Records, There Is Always Hope positions itself firmly in the time-honoured acoustic jazz tradition but does so with enthusiasm, integrity, and conviction. It's a solid release on both compositional and performance grounds and is the product of many years of writing, performing, and collaborating. The terrific set of musical partners with which Block's surrounded himself enables the Steinway artist to bask in their company, secure in the knowledge that his material will be delivered at a consistently high level.

In everything he does, Block draws on his background as a classically trained pianist whose passion for jazz led to studies at Columbia University and The Juilliard School. The Philadelphia native's got strong roots in New York, as evidenced by his stint a year ago as associate music director and pianist for George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway and by his involvement with Jazz at Lincoln Center. He often serves as musical director for its productions and has performed with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, including its August 2026 tour through Edinburgh, Scotland, and Ireland.

There Is Always Hope augments Block with trumpeter Noah Halpern, saxophonists Chris Lewis (tenor, soprano), Morgan Guerin (tenor), Dylan Band (tenor), and Abdias Armenteros (soprano), bassist Samuel Harris, drummer Christian McGhee, and, guesting on one of its thirteen pieces, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. While the album's entirely instrumental, the track titles suggest a narrative of sorts that documents a personal journey involving hardship, introspection, perseverance, and, finally, resilience and hope. The music reflects those changes in oscillating between hard-hitting pieces and others that probe inwardly.

Overture-like, “The Opening” shows how powerful Block's outfit is and with McGhee thrashing behind the woodwinds and piano bodes well for what's to come. It also affords a first glimpse of the leader's pianistic prowess when an unaccompanied passage captures his delicate and sophisticated touch in action. “No Easy Way" follows without pause, an insistent Latin-tinged groove and a rising motive giving way to sultry phrases delivered in unison by trumpet and sax. The authority with which the musicians interact testifies to the tightness of the unit and the individual talents of those involved. During “The Crossover,” the soprano sax solo exemplifies the heat the ensemble is capable of generating, and Block, Harris, and McGhee work in tandem to sustain a stabilizing ground that's still amenable to whatever's happening in the moment. Halpern blazes through a towering solo to perpetuate the intensity thus far generated. The trumpeter's a spark that constantly ignites the performances, though much the same could be said of any of the others. Block's a well-spring of invention and imagination throughout, as indicated by the freewheeling solo he delivers here.

In contrast to the tumultuous roar of “Panopticon,”“Self-Questions” is gentler in keeping with a composition crafted with the idea of inward probing in mind. Such honest self-appraisal leads to “Nadir,” which, despite its title, doesn't feel bereft of hope; desperation and struggle are, however, intimated by the turbulence of the performance and the darker tonal shadings. In shifting immediately to a light-speed attack and high-wire soloing, “Ways” suggests that the plunge into darkness is over, the protagonist of our implied narrative having found a way out and forged a path forward. Brace yourself for the volcanic fire stoked by the rhythm section for the soloists to roar over; mention must be made of Harris too for being the grounding centre of the storm.

The uptempo tracks are stunning, but the ballads are as memorable. Block's finesse resounds throughout these pieces, beginning with the soprano sax-and-piano duet “Worlds Within” and continuing with the slow-motion lament “Wherever the Wind.”As the album moves into its final stage, “Spark” entrances with a sultry midtempo pulse and warm front-line textures, after which Rosenwinkel points “Ungrounded” skyward with a scalding solo marked by spiraling upward motion.

October 2026