Justin Rock Quartet

Guitarist and composer Justin Rock brings his hard-edged, percussive style to a quartet that explores modern West Coast jazz at the intersection of post-bop, ECM-influenced sounds, and jazz-rock. With over 15 years of performance experience and multiple releases including his band Bastet's debut album Eye of Ra, Rock has built a reputation for tightly-conceived original compositions. Jazz Weekly described his work on that album as "a lovely mix of sounds and grooves as sweet and sour sauce."

Joining Rock are three of the Bay Area's most accomplished young voices. Drummer Malachi Whitson leads the ensemble Something with Soul, blending jazz, R&B, and improvisation, and has performed with Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, and Helen Sung. Bassist Isaac Coyle, a 2023 Berklee graduate, is a frequent collaborator with Terri Lyne Carrington's Grammy-winning New Standards band. Saxophonist Kazemde George released his debut album I Insist on Greenleaf Music in 2021, showcasing what critics praised as his gift for streamlined melodies and explorations of African diaspora musical traditions—drawing on his studies of traditional music in Havana and his Harvard neurobiology and New England Conservatory jazz composition background.

Expect original modern jazz that draws from post-bop traditions while pushing into contemporary territory, with Rock's compositions providing the framework for inventive group interplay.