click on the photo for full album review

Cohesive and fluid are not words one would associate with the wild, spontaneous collective Bright Dog Red (BDR). Yet, relative to their seven preceding albums (all on Ropeadope), the upstate New York-based band seems to settle into a relentless groove on “Never Would We,” their tenth album overall. That’s one view.  First-time listeners will likely have a different opinion. Even bandleader Joe Pignato says that it may be their most stylistically diverse album yet.  After all, this is a band that enters the studio without charts or set lists. They start with a concept to inspire the musicians, poets, and MCs, and then begin to improvise. For this effort, the idea is the insidious nature of denial.  As tracks took shape over 2024 and 2025, Pignato brought in other players, improvised solo drum and percussion tracks, and passed these around for the other musicians to add their parts. So, it’s part studio and part overlaid. They’ve been working this way for a decade.

Yet, BDR features several new members with this release. Jerome Harris is on bass and guitar, Martin Loyato plays trumpet and flugelhorn, and two celebrated poets, Randall Horton and interdisciplinary artist Christian Black from the acclaimed jazz poetry group Heroes Are Gang Leaders, join long-term vocalist and poet Matt Coonan. In addition to drummer and founder Pignato, the ensemble features regular contributors Tim Lefebvre (electric and synth bass), Tyreek Jackson (electric bass and guitar), Cody Davies (sounds), Anthony Berman (acoustic and electric bass), and Mike LaBombard (tenor saxophone and keyboard)