Helen Russell

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The Scornful Four: Hopeful Music for Hopeless People

by Jack Kenny
August 1, 2026

This is an exciting and important album, though some of the language surrounding its release obscures more than it reveals. The term “scornful," for instance, hardly captures the evident musical concord here. What we hear instead is a group in genuine sympathy: cooperative, attentive, and fully committed to the shared purpose of the music. The publicity aligns the quartet with the Gerry Mulligan--Chet Baker pianoless group of the early 1950s, as well as the Sonny Rollins's trio with ...