Jerome Jennings – The Beast

December 16, 2016 / No Comments / Tags: Christian McBride, Dion Tucker, Howard Wiley, Jazzmeia Horn, Jerome Jennings, Sean Jones, thejazzpage.com

(Iola Records)


Cleveland native-turned-New Yorker Jerome Jennings, makes a powerful debut with The Beast. The nine-track production presents the virtuosity of the high-demand drummer in a set of eclectic compositions inspired by romantic to the socio-political matters. Jennings wrote four on the album’s tunes, including one which artfully merges music with words of a speech on lives lost in highly-publicized deadly law enforcement encounters, including the shooting death of 12-year old Tamir Rice in Jennings’ hometown. Performances of tunes by Freddie Hubbard, Ben Webster,Jon Burr and Don Raye and Gene de Paul, among others, comprise much of the recording. The musician lineup on the effort is no less impressive with bassist Christian McBride, trumpeter Sean Jones, trombonist Dion Tucker and tenor saxophonist Howard Wiley helping to power the notes. Singer Jazzmeia Horn is a fantastic contributor on one of the tunes as well. This is a truly substantive and engaging first outing from Jennings.

Click to listen to a clip of “The Beast”:


Tracks: Love The Drums, Cool It Now, Ice Cream Dreams, You Don’t Know What Love Is, Did You Call Her Today, The Core, Cammy’s Smile, The Beast, New Beginnings.

Website: JeromeJennings.com