Illegal Crowns in Best Jazz on Bandcamp, June 2023

We are so super pumped to see Illegal Crowns - Unclosing in Best Jazz on Bandcamp, June 2023. Big thanks to Dave Sumner for such an enthusiastic review! And thanks to everyone who has picked this up and taken a listen. It means a lot to all of us! Illegal Crowns is Benoit Delbecq, Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynum, and Tomas Fujiwara. Also check out that sweet album cover by TJ Huff (huffart.com), looking reeeeeeal good at the top of this article.

"God, yes, this. This, all the time. Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, guitarist Mary Halvorson, pianist Benoît Delbecq, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara all the time. The quartet is a waterfall, fluid and dynamic, one that eagerly comes crashing down, and hard. When there’s a melodic flash, grab it tight and enjoy it in that moment, ‘cause it’s fleeting. And that’s okay, because the next melodic expression will be just as good—probably better. The music is a bundle of energy; volatility is the watchword on Unclosing, yet, intriguingly, there’s a noir quality to the affair that catches the breath and elicits a sense of patience—a calm at the center of chaos. More of this, thank you and please."

Adam Hopkins