Jimmy Greene: As We Are Now
Greene Music Works

The title of Jimmy Greene's As We Are Now invites several possible interpretations. Yet while one might initially think it's the saxophonist commenting on the current state of America, its primary reference is to his own state of well-being and the emotional journey he's been on since his daughter Ana lost her life on December 14, 2012 at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School. Key to the album is an emotionally stirring trio of songs that addresses the tragedy and the sorrow Greene and his family experienced. As he points out, however, there's been suffering but also joy in the nearly thirteen years since that day, and Greene has crafted a musical collection that tonally reflects that emotional panorama.

Helping him realize that vision are four superb players—pianist Aaron Goldberg, guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Jonathan Barber—plus guests who might only appear once or twice but are difference-makers nonetheless. The core has been with him in different ways for many years: Greene has performed with Goldberg since their college days in the mid-‘90s and with Moreno, Douglas, and Barber since the 2000s. Also a former classmate of Greene's, Javier Colon adds a terrific vocal to one cut, while Hammond B3 organist Shedrick Mitchell and percussionists Rogerio Boccato and Gabriel Globus-Hoenich also contribute. To create one of the album's most compelling pieces, the leader threaded his speaking voice as well as those of his wife Nelba Márquez-Greene and their son Isaiah into the instrumental fabric of the title track.

Opting to establish a joyous rather than lugubrious tone, Greene begins the album with “Praises,” an irrepressibly infectious and jubilant cut. Soaring on tenor, he leads his charges in a gospel- and funk-drenched statement that's animated by tambourine and warmed by Mitchell's organ. Joy oozes from the tune's every pore, with Green's florid tenor declamations raising his partners to matching heights. Goldberg rides a bop wave midway through to bolster the rousing spirit before euphoria reinstates itself one more time. With the onset of the also-exuberant “Seventeen Days,” Greene switches to soprano, its bright, upper-register song a pleasing complement to Colon's smooth and soulful tenor. Bringing a Stevie Wonder-like sultriness to a song is never a bad thing, and Colon and Greene make a terrific tag-team as the singer riffs on the saxophonist's early days as a touring musician dealing with the challenges of life as an artist and family man. Continuing on soprano, Green and company tackle the high-intensity swing of “Impatient,” his horn soaring mightily and the band doing the same alongside him. As they do throughout, Douglas and Barber power the performances with imagination and unflagging drive, while Moreno makes the most of his soloing opportunity with a fleet-fingered run. You might find yourself hearing the bassist and drummer evoking Ron Carter and Tony Williams during their Miles days during the track's roar. Further to that, you might experience something similar when the band digs into "Flood Stage,” a track based on the chord progression of Wayne Shorter's “Pinocchio," itself Miles-related in being part of 1968's Nefertiti.

When As We Are Now moves into its suite component, the mood turns contemplative for “Unburdened" with a now tenor-wielding Greene honouring Ana's memory with a lyrical and heartfelt expression. Adding to the embracing tone, Goldberg supplements piano with Rhodes electric to help celebrate her brief passage on earth. Greene initiates the title track by asking “How are we doing now?” and follows it with a soulful declaration of affirmation, the music as hopeful as the words uttered by his wife and son. Picking up where “Unburdened” left off, “Anhelando” (‘longing' in Spanish) flanks Greene's yearning tenor with an enticing Brazilian-inflected groove from Barber and Boccato. Separate from the suite but as enticing is the album closer, a percussive-driven treatment of Kurt Weill's “Speak Low,” its infectious pulse strengthened by congas and cowbell.

September 2025