Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y: Kind of Grunge

New York-based master drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. is back, Generation Y in tow, with another generous helping of so-called "grunge jazz" deftly transformed to straight-ahead patterns in a style similar to that of the legendary Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.

This is not, however, precisely the same Generation Y that recorded the well-received album, Around the World with U, for the Cellar Music Group earlier in 2026. The lone holdover besides Owens is the versatile pianist Tyler Bullock. Trumpeter Anthony Hervey has been replaced by Benny Benack III, alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo by Langston Hughes II, bassist Yasushi Nakamura by Thomas Milovac, and there is no trombonist sitting in for Nanami Haruta. Instead, guitarist and percussionist Dan Wilson comes on board to preserve sextet status.

Even so, there is no appreciable loss of artistry or commitment here, as the "newer" Generation Y hurries its way through a dozen original compositions whose genesis is likely unfamiliar to anyone aside from the most broad-minded and well-informed jazz enthusiast. The grunge bands represented include Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and The Smashing Pumpkins A pair of tunes ("In Bloom," "Heart-Shaped Box") were written and a third ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") co-written by the late Kurt Cobain.

Generation Y sprints from the starting gate behind the dynamic "Touch Me I'm Sick," traverses a similar path on "Even Flow" and is suitably askew on the curiously named "Would?" before pausing for a few deep breaths on the relatively sedate "Disarm." The strident "Team Spirit" is heavily smeared with grunge, as is Wilson's guitar solo, while the even-tempered "Wooden Jesus" (featuring Benack's muted trumpet and a brief reference to Kurt Weill's "My Ship") provides another respite before everyone climbs back in the saddle to drive the frisky "Spoonman" across the finish line.

The lyrical "Interstate Love Song" precedes the album's lone vocal, neatly delivered by Benack on Cobain's Latin-flavored "In Bloom," the deeply scrubbed "Celebrity Skin," ardent "Heart-Shaped Box" and inquisitive finale, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Setting aside for the moment its origins, "grunge jazz" proves readily adaptable to a the sort of straight-ahead treatment favored by Owens and Generation Y—not only in a group sense but in terms of solos too, as they are invariably perceptive and never patronizing.

Owens and Generation Y's maxim now seems to be "the grungier the better," and who is to argue as long as the grunge keeps sounding as sharp and engaging as it does here.