Blowout

John Carroll Kirby shares a name with innovative swing-era bassist and chamber-jazz sextet leader John Kirby (1908-1952), though there’s no relation—or is there? The later Kirby studied jazz orchestration and composition with eminent bassist John Clayton, and though he’d shift toward piano and synths and an exploratory brand of instrumental electro-pop, the lessons stuck, evident in Kirby’s gift for mood and atmosphere, tonal balance and hypnotic rhythm. He’s cited Quincy Jones as a role model, and that scans: The sound of *Blowout*, and of Kirby’s body of work in general, is that of someone playing multiple roles with a producer’s ear, taking strong material to the next level. Quincy’s late-’60s/early-’70s albums for A&M—funky, exuberant, appealingly slick—are certainly a point of reference. You hear it right away on “Oropendola,” the opening track on *Blowout*, which follows up the previous year’s *Dance Ancestral*. The album was inspired by a Costa Rican sojourn, where Kirby filmed an episode of his video series *Kirby’s Gold*. Airy flute melodies, fat synth bass, bright harmonic colors, and solid grooves prevail on what might be his most infectious release to date.

The latest album from this L.A. session player to the stars reveals him to be a fascinatingly expressive keyboardist who doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Grammy-nominated keyboardist, composer, and producer John Carroll Kirby's presence has graced dozens of recordings from the current generation of pop hitmakers, but his most compelling work has appeared on his own albums.

There is something about John Carroll Kirby that is hard to dislike. Firstly, he’s prolific. Since signing to Stones Throw in 2022, he has released six