NEXT Collective is an ensemble recording by the next generation of jazz greats, including saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, guitarist Matthew Stevens, keyboardists Gerald Clayton and Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, drummer Jamire Williams, and special guest trumpeter Christian Scott. The group explores their own interpretations of songs by such contemporary artists as Bon Iver, Drake, N.E.R.D, Little Dragon and more. From Jay Z and Kanye Westʼs “No Church In The Wild” to Pearl Jamʼs “Oceans” to Meshell Ndegeocelloʼs “Come Smoke My Herb,” to Drakeʼs “Marvins Room,” to Bon Iverʼs “Perth,” the album delivers a cohesive flow. Check how a tune like “Fly or Die”— a rock-fueled slice of R&B by N.E.R.D.—is recast by Ben Williams with the bounce and gear-shifts of a late ʼ70s fusion workout. Or how the metronomic beats and laconic lyricism of Little Dragonʼs “Twice” are faithfully recreated in an acoustic jazz setting, courtesy of Richardson; the reversed horn lines that kick off the tune (and the album) are a clear signal that this project is both as mindful of the studio-craft of its many musical sources as it is of the live interaction of the jazz tradition. Cover Art has its feet firmly planted in the overlap of as many styles as possible.