There’s a radical integrity to Billy’s music. He’s interested in playing exactly what he feels in the moment and nothing else. While certainly many master improvisers are capable of extraordinary feats of improvisation – building castles of sound from the barest of inputs – Billy apparently won’t even bend his concept to adhere to basic narrative conceits. Billy’s creations don’t need to escalate to some pinnacle of expression. They just are.

Billy Lester is a pianist based in the Bronx who has been quietly building his own unique voice and sound for decades. Billy is a mostly unheralded name in jazz but we were blown away by his sound and approach to the piano. Billy recorded this album with a legendary rhythm section of Rufus Reid on bass and Matt Wilson on drums.