Inbar Solomon Sextet fused rabbit-hole timbres into front-row escapism in ‘Right on Q ‘ –

There is a list of accolades that could easily become taller than the Empire State Building trailing behind saxist and composer Inbar Solomon and his Inbar Solomon Sextet as they cement their status as some of NYC’s most prestigious jazz mesmerists. In the live performance of Right on Q at Arnold Hall, his reverence for the expressive art form becomes transfixingly alive. Each instrumental voice is effortlessly synergised with the next, pouring the arrangement so it moves like one fluid motion, each note an extension of the brass-tinged glamour of the genre.

It is a time warp, stripping back the decades and dressing the room in swanky opulence. The way the alto and tenor resist harmony yet still circle around the trombone lets you tumble down the rabbit hole of one of the most scintillating timbre kaleidoscopes you are likely to hear; no bar feels exclusive enough to exclude the Sextet. This piece serves as a reminder of what pure class sounds like.

Originally from Tel Aviv and now rooted in New York, Solomon honed his language at The New School before taking that bebop foundation onto stages from Bern to Jerusalem, and the Brooklyn haunts that shape the city’s current jazz lifeblood. As a bandleader, he writes for interaction and storytelling as much as for chops, which is why Right on Q lands like an invitation into his world of melody-forward, audience-connected improvisation.

The sextet format gives him room to let each player speak while still keeping the lines lucid, so heads who crave intricate horn writing alongside old-school swing energy will find a proper gem here. Right on Q is the kind of performance that makes you want to swap scrolling for a front-row seat.

The Live Performance of Right on Q is now available on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast