Jimbo Ross - Beyond the Groove (2026)

Tracklist

01. Groovin’ High
02. In Walked Bud
03. A Night in Tunisia
04. Peri’s Scope
05. Afternoon in Paris
06. Nica’s Dream
07. Juicy Lucy
08. Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are
09. Whisper Not
10. I Mean You
11. Gloria’s Step
12. Solar
13. Nutville

Jimbo Ross – 5-string electric viola; Joe Gaeta – guitar; Stuart Elster – piano; Peter Marshall – bass; Ron Wagner – drums

Jimbo Ross plays a five-string electric viola, an instrument you don’t often hear at the center of a jazz quintet. But the first thing that comes across on Beyond the Groove isn’t the novelty of the instrument. It’s how well he plays and how natural it sounds among these jazz classics. A viola is slightly larger than a violin and has a deeper tone, but Ross’s custom-made instrument adds an E string, allowing him to reach the upper register of a violin.

Ross has been playing with guitarist Joe Gaeta for decades. Gaeta has a bright, clear tone, picking out single notes and letting them ring, then pulling back on the beat. Against that, Ross can move from the high register of the viola down into its deeper voice.

Ross and the piano trade phrases at the beginning of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High,” then Ross takes off on a swinging solo with Gaeta comping behind him. The drums tap lightly underneath, while the piano takes a more laid-back approach, playing fluid lines before starting to hit the keys harder. Ross comes back trading phrases before hitting the theme, with the rest of the band playing behind him.

Thelonious Monk’s “In Walked Bud” has a funky groove, with Ross and Elster tight together on the theme while the bass and drums push underneath. Gaeta’s bright guitar is mostly single notes, with a few smears where he rakes across the strings and lets the pitches blur together. Elster takes a relaxed solo, and when Ross returns to the theme, he repeats pieces of it rather than playing the whole melody again.

Ross doesn’t take all the solo spots on Bill Evans’ “Peri’s Scope”; Elster and Gaeta get plenty of time to play. The slower tempo suits him, too. He holds some notes longer, then hits others harder, drawing more emotion from the viola. Elster hits the piano harder, and Gaeta follows with another solo.

“Whisper Not” has a nice easy swing, with Ross and Gaeta playing alongside each other while Elster comps quietly behind. Ross gradually picks up the tempo, then Elster takes a relaxed solo built from chords and single notes, including some nice ascending lines. Gaeta answers with more single-note runs.

The tunes are familiar, but after spending time with this record, it is the playing that sticks with you. Ross sounds completely at home on the viola, and so does the band around him.