Johan Budi
The contemporary jazz landscape is witnessing a profound intersection of personal lineage, historical preservation, and cross-cultural fusion as evidenced by three major new releases from Terence Collie, Les Haricots Rouges, and the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band. These projects, ranging from intimate string-laden explorations of Seychellois heritage to high-octane tributes to the architects of Afro-Cuban music, signal a broader trend in the genre: the use of jazz as a vessel for complex storytelling and the preservation of global musical genealogies. While London-based Terence Collie looks inward at his family’s migratory history between Scotland and the Indian Ocean, the French septet Les Haricots Rouges celebrates over six decades of New Orleans-style longevity, and New York’s Bobby Sanabria honors the blind visionary Arsenio Rodriguez at the Bronx Music Hall. Together, these releases provide a panoramic view of how modern jazz musicians are balancing technical innovation with a deep reverence for the past.
Terence Collie and the Cartography of Identity in DNA
London-based composer and bandleader Terence Collie has long been recognized for his technical fluidity and his ability to bridge the gap between traditional jazz structures and contemporary fusion. His latest project, DNA, released in 2026, represents the culmination of a career that began with self-taught piano sessions in his youth and transitioned into a professional career in the hotels and nightclubs of Jersey by the age of 17. Collie’s trajectory through the 1980s and 1990s saw him sharing stages with luminaries such as Teddy Edwards, Georgie Fame, and Andy Sheppard, experiences that solidified his reputation as a versatile sideman before he pivoted toward more personal compositional work.
The release of DNA follows a productive period for Collie, which included the 2023 solo piano album Reminiscent and the quartet-driven 384,400. However, DNA is distinct in its ambition, reuniting Collie with the London String Trio—violinist Ruth Elder, violist Clare Kennington, and cellist Jocasta Mudge—to create a chamber-jazz hybrid that explores his family’s roots in the Seychelles. Recorded at the prestigious Real World Studios in Box, UK, the album serves as a musical map of the Collie family’s migration.
The opening track, Montrose To Mahé, provides a historical anchor for the album. It traces the journey of Collie’s great-grandfather from the Scottish port of Montrose to the Seychelles. The composition begins with a traditional Scottish jig, representing the European origins of the lineage, before evolving into a melody that critics have noted bears a striking resemblance to the nostalgic lilt of Ray Davies’s Waterloo Sunset. This juxtaposition of the British Isles with the Indian Ocean is further explored in Good Genes, where Collie blends jazz-fusion with Latin elements to reflect his mixed-race heritage.
The album’s focus on the geography of the Seychelles extends to tracks like Silhouette, named after the third-largest granitic island in the archipelago, and Tall Palm Trees, which pays homage to the Coco de Mer and other prehistoric flora found on the island of Praslin. In Beau Vallon, Collie moves into more personal territory, recalling the coastal region of Mahé where his maternal grandfather built a family home. This is followed by Harbour View, a track that utilizes a "Creole groove"—a rhythmic signature of the Seychelles—to celebrate the guesthouse owned by his paternal grandparents. By integrating the London String Trio into his quartet (featuring bassist Nick Lenner-Webster, percussionist Cosimo Keita Cadore, and drummer Ted Carrasco), Collie has created a body of work that is as rhythmically complex as it is emotionally resonant.
Les Haricots Rouges: Six Decades of New Orleans Tradition in France
While Collie explores the specificities of personal lineage, the French septet Les Haricots Rouges (The Red Beans) continues to champion the collective history of New Orleans jazz. Their new album, 60 Ans, Amazing Grace!!, celebrates a milestone that few ensembles in any genre achieve: 60 years of continuous performance. Formed in 1963 by a group of high school students in Paris, the band has evolved from an amateur student octet into a world-renowned institution of Dixieland and swing.
The band’s longevity is a testament to the enduring appeal of the New Orleans "revival" sound in Europe. Over the decades, Les Haricots Rouges have performed thousands of concerts across the globe and sold more than a million albums. Their historical significance is underscored by their resume, which includes opening for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Louis Armstrong. They have also collaborated with legendary figures such as Kid Thomas, George Lewis, and Fats Domino, serving as a bridge between the originators of the genre and the European jazz scene.
Despite several lineup changes over the last 63 years, the ensemble maintains a link to its origins through pianist Pierre Jean, an original member who continues to drive the band’s rhythmic foundation. The new album features 11 tracks, including three original compositions—Super Marché, Le Court Bouillon, and Le Kid Est Mort—which demonstrate the band’s ability to pen new material within the traditional idiom.
A notable feature of 60 Ans, Amazing Grace!! is the vocal diversity of the group; five of the seven members contribute vocals, creating a rich, communal sound. The album also includes a French adaptation of Bartholomew & King’s Ma Madeleine and an English rendition of Lionel Hampton’s I’m On My Way From You. One of the more intriguing tracks, Plus Je T’Embrasse, utilizes the melody from Ben Ryan’s 1926 classic The Gang That Sang “Heart Of My Heart”, but with entirely new French lyrics that deviate from the English original. Recorded in Doix-lès-Fontaines, France, the album serves as both a retrospective and a vibrant continuation of the band’s mission to keep the spirit of 1920s New Orleans alive in the 21st century.
Bobby Sanabria and the Legacy of Arsenio Rodriguez
In the United States, the focus on heritage takes a more rhythmic and revolutionary turn with the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band. Their latest release, Arsenio And Beyond – Live At The Bronx Music Hall, is a high-energy tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez, the Cuban musician credited with inventing the mambo and son montuno rhythms that eventually evolved into modern salsa.
Bobby Sanabria, a Puerto Rican drummer and percussionist raised in the South Bronx, has dedicated his career to the education and preservation of Afro-Cuban jazz. Having worked with icons like Mario Bauzá and Tito Puente, Sanabria founded his 26-piece Multiverse Big Band 28 years ago to explore the "multiverse" of Latin music influences. The decision to record this tribute live at the Bronx Music Hall is deeply symbolic, as it is located in the same neighborhood where Rodriguez lived after moving to New York from Cuba.
Arsenio Rodriguez (1911–1970) remains one of the most influential figures in Latin music. Blind from the age of seven after being kicked in the head by a horse, he became a master of the Cuban tres (a three-course chordophone). His innovation was the addition of a piano and a second trumpet to the traditional conjunto ensemble, creating a denser, more powerful sound that allowed for the extended improvisational sections known as the montuno.
Sanabria’s album features seven compositions by Rodriguez, alongside works influenced by his legacy, such as Tito Puente’s Mambo Diablo. The arrangements are described as "high-octane" and "frenetic," maintaining a relentless tempo that mirrors the energy of the South Bronx. Tracks like Tumba Y Bongó and La Vida Es Un Sueño showcase the Multiverse Big Band’s ability to translate Rodriguez’s mid-century innovations into a contemporary big-band context. The recording captures the "take no prisoners" attitude of Sanabria’s conducting, characterized by loud, urgent vocals and a powerful brass section that pays homage to the "Elemento Del Bronx."
Implications and Historical Context of the Releases
These three releases represent more than just new music; they are documents of cultural survival and evolution. In the case of Terence Collie, DNA signifies the growing trend of jazz musicians using the genre to explore post-colonial identities and the "creolization" of music. By incorporating the London String Trio, Collie joins a lineage of jazz artists—from Stan Getz to Terence Blanchard—who have used strings to add cinematic depth to their personal narratives.
For Les Haricots Rouges, their 60-year milestone highlights the specific cultural phenomenon of "Traditional Jazz" in France. While the United States saw jazz move toward bebop and avant-garde in the mid-20th century, a significant portion of the French jazz community remained dedicated to the New Orleans style, viewing it as a pure form of folk expression. The band’s ability to sell a million albums while playing a style that is over a century old speaks to the enduring nature of the "Hot Jazz" aesthetic.
Finally, Bobby Sanabria’s tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez serves a vital educational purpose. By bringing Rodriguez’s music back to the Bronx, Sanabria reinforces the connection between the Caribbean and the urban centers of the United States. It highlights the role of the Bronx as a "melting pot" where Afro-Cuban rhythms met American big-band jazz to create the salsa explosion of the 1970s.
Conclusion
The releases of DNA, 60 Ans, Amazing Grace!!, and Arsenio And Beyond demonstrate that the future of jazz is inextricably linked to its past. Whether through the lens of family genealogy in the Seychelles, the preservation of Dixieland in Paris, or the high-energy reclamation of mambo in the Bronx, these artists are ensuring that the histories they represent are not only remembered but are actively evolving. As the jazz world moves further into the 2020s, these projects provide a roadmap for how musicians can honor their heritage while pushing the boundaries of their respective sub-genres. The technical mastery displayed in these recordings—from Collie’s delicate string arrangements to Sanabria’s thunderous percussion—confirms that the "DNA" of jazz remains as vibrant and diverse as ever.
