When four young jazz virtuosos decided to join forces, The Rhythm Future Quartet was born. Named after a Django Reinhardt tune, The Rhythm Future Quartet performs dynamic and fiery arrangements of Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions that draw from rhythms heard around the world. Jason Anick and Olli Soikkeli, the front-men and lead soloists of the group, have been receiving critical acclaim this past year and are considered ‘rising stars’ in the world of jazz and Gypsy jazz. Soikkeli, who recently made the move from his home country of Finland to New York City, has rapidly become a top call guitarist in the bustling Brooklyn jazz scene and has been aptly coined “the Finnish boy wonder.” Anick, who is also an award-winning composer, is one of the youngest professors at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston. With Max O’Rourke on second guitar and Greg Loughman on bass, Rhythm Future is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of a vital musical genre. Where the band’s self-titled debut album re-visited classic jazz and Gypsy jazz favorites, “Travels,” the quartet’s current release, concentrates on group originals that make captivating use of musical sources from outside the conventional Gypsy jazz terrain. “Travels” reflects both the accumulated knowledge garnered from the groups world wide touring as well as the international influences that inspired new rhythmic and harmonic possibilities within their compositions and arrangements. Garnering critical acclaim, “Travels” was picked as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2016 by All About Jazz and the Huffington Post.
February 4, 2017
