Elena Pinderhughes - i hope you feel it too (2026) [Hi-Res]

Review by Matt Collar
Flutist and singer Elena Pinderhughes conjures deep, soulful jazz textures on her debut album, 2026's I Hope You Can Feel It Too. A Bay Area native, Pinderhughes is best known for her contributions to trumpeter Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah's albums; having been introduced on 2015's Stretch Music. She has also worked with a cross-genre mix of artists, from jazz legend Herbie Hancock to rappers Future and Metro Boomin to contemporary luminaries like Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper. She brings all of this experience to bear here, embracing a harmonically nuanced, crossover sound that touches upon electronic fusion, global rhythms, and alt-R&B. Throughout, her flute is often dipped in a sonic effects shimmer and, as in cuts like the title track and the sultry "Rose in Bloom," finds her singing alongside herself in a hushed echo. She even hums through the flute on "510," evoking the lullaby moodiness of Krzysztof Komeda's score for Rosemary's Baby. Certainly, Pinderhughes leans into a dimensionally atmospheric production style, framing herself in dreamy synths, otherworldly harp, and percussion grooves. It's an approach that often favors an overall group ambience over individual, post-bop improvisational flair. Still, her flute acumen grabs attention, especially the way she solos with bright abandon against her vocal harmonies on "Over There." Elsewhere, she brings on board several guests, including Adjuah on "Charm," saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins on "Life Goes On," and her brother pianist Samora Pinderhughes for the elegiac, classical-inflected "On the Wind." With I Hope You Can Feel It Too, Pinderhughes has made an album full of tangible vibes.