Jazz Articles about Kai Gibson

About Kai Gibson

Album Review

Enoch Smith Jr.: This Is What Love Does

Read "This Is What Love Does" reviewed by D.W. Long

by D.W. Long
August 28, 2026

When the medium artists use is typically wordless, how do they tell their story? Pianist Enoch Smith Jr.. has confronted this question, turned it over, and not only accepted the challenge, but mastered it. In a follow-up to The Book of Enoch Vol. 1 (Misfitme Music, 2025), Smith continues to joyfully tell his tale through This is What Love Does, his 2026 release. Conceived and executed as an acoustic trio album, the project's nine songs--of which seven are originals--explore family, ...

Album Review

Enoch Smith Jr.: The Book of Enoch Vol. 1

Read "The Book of Enoch Vol. 1" reviewed by Jim Trageser

by Jim Trageser
November 26, 2025

With a longstanding residence as a music worship leader at Allentown Presbyterian Church in New Jersey, pianist / composer Enoch Smith Jr. comes to jazz with a gospel perspective. Once common in soul music and even blues, this gospel background is rarer in jazz, especially in recent years. On The Book of Enoch, Vol 1, as in his previous outing, The Quest: Live at APC (2016), Smith's performance is in a jazz vein--albeit one with significant ...