Charles Tolliver And His All Stars ‎– Right Now… and Then (RSD 2026)

Right Now… and Then is Charles Tolliver staking out his place in the hard‑charging, modernist wing of mid‑60s jazz—fiery post‑bop with sharp compositional lines, tight ensemble discipline, and solos that build with architectural intent rather than free‑form abandon. Tolliver’s trumpet is bright and assertive, cutting through arrangements that balance angular themes with wide improvisational space. The rhythm section drives hard but clean, giving the music a sense of propulsion without clutter.

What stands out is the clarity: even at its most intense, the band plays with precision, each player locking into Tolliver’s forward‑leaning harmonic language. It’s a snapshot of a young composer‑leader already thinking big—rooted in the post‑bop tradition but pushing toward something more expansive, urgent, and unmistakably his own.