Album Review: Children of Sound from Xander Naylor
Album: Children of Sound Artist: Xander Naylor Release Date: April 21, 2026 Website: https://www.xandernaylor.com Jazz fusion guitarist Xander Naylor presents his 2026 release Children of Sound, once again exploring the symbiotic bond of jazz, improvisation, and North Indian Hindustani classical music. Making music that is both fluid and complex, spontaneous and lyrical, upbeat and meditative, capricious and calming, sparse and layered, Naylor's compositions capture a melodicism found in polarizing facets through in-depth exploration and concerted exchanges. Joining Naylor on the recording is his long-time mentor Samir Chatterjee on tabla, Utsav Lal on piano, Raphaël Pannier on drums, and Birsa Chatterjee on tenor saxophone. Together, the quintet produces a lyricism laden with intriguing mysticism and cerebral magnetism. The catchy motifs of "Future Curious" interpolate Indian accents into jazz-inspired expressions, as Lal's trickl...