Paradox Sequenz

Steps recorded them (and a third, Smokin' in the Pit, also available from NYC) for a Japanese label before becoming Steps Ahead and landing a domestic contract. Step by Step and Paradox feature the same lineup, except that Peter Erskine replaces Steve Gadd on the latter. No disrespect to Gadd intended, but Paradox is the superior album. Recorded live at the now-defunct Seventh Avenue South club in 1981, it finds the band stretching out and taking on more adventurous material. Pianist Don Grolnick weighs in with the smoking bossa "NL 4" and the somewhat epic "Four Chords," while vibraphonist/leader Mainieri gives listeners the dark and mellow "Patch of Blue" and the free bop extravaganza "The Aleph."

Congolese-born, Montreal-based musician, songwriter, and DJ Pierre Kwenders (he/him) is a storyteller at his core. Motivated by the intricacies of love, his songs weave together narratives from memories of the past, sketches of his hometown, and reflections on the future. With his third album, José Louis and The Paradox of Love (via Arts & Crafts), Kwenders arrives at a new juncture – a moment of resonance, carefully wrapped in freewheeling tapestry, hinged in reverence to its diverse heritage, yet reveling in the inventive combination of its elements. Seamlessly working across Congolese rumba, contemporary electronic music, pop-R&B, and jazz-infused progressions with a range of global collaborators including Tendai Maraire (Shabazz Palaces), Branko (M.I.A., Buraka som Sistema), Win Butler (Arcade Fire), Michael Brun (J Balvin), and Uproot Andy (Poirier), the new album is both an embrace of African musical tradition and an evolution of it.