All-star jazz quintet SML assembled their first two albums from live and studio performances, but both efforts were heavily edited and post-produced. Spontaneous Music Live is the group’s first truly live record, capturing two lengthy, unedited improvisations performed at Zebulon in Los Angeles during the group’s residency in December of 2025. While the endless possibilities of the recording studio are just as crucial to the band’s work as their own musicianship, Spontaneous Music Live shows that their chemistry is naturally strong, and they can produce powerful work without the use of studio trickery.
Right from the start, it seems like the group whips a ferocious groove out of thin air on “The Drums.” The rhythms constantly mutate,…
Tag Archive: SML
Made up of an all-star roster (Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, and Gregory Uhlmann), Los Angeles-based quintet SML assemble their recordings from a hybrid of live and in-studio performances.
Small Medium Large introduced their style of fluid, groove-heavy improvisations, and second effort How You Been continues in the same direction, but feels more assured and deliberate. The group’s members have clearly become more in tune with each other, and their chemistry is tighter and stronger. There’s a more natural flow to the rhythms here, as well as a bit more studio polish, making the tracks sound closer to planned-out compositions rather than jam sessions. They’re able to balance blippy, off-kilter…