PAPATAMUS REDUX

SUNNYSIDE (RELEASED MARCH 13, 2026)

Rather than recording an homage to his late mother, who he lost to cancer, drummer Willy Rodriguez opted to reflect musically on his grief and healing. Like his first recording, Seeing Sounds, Rodriguez’s genre-defying approach is even more pronounced on In The Unknown (I Will Find You) with music that is marked by a sense of sadness, anguish, contemplation and melancholy. Unlike Seeing Sounds  that featured an octet with two bass players, the new session is bass-free, giving the trio of Rodriguez, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and piano/organ player Leo Genovese (who appeared on Seeing Sounds) more freedom to explore the ethos of this emotionally laden material. The title track begins with Laubrock ruminating over Genovese’s atmospheric playing and Rodriguez’s undulating rhythms before it morphs into a free and more intense conversation between the three. Genovese is featured on “A Room of Confusion,” opening the tune with a dense and dark mood before Laubrock and Rodriguez create a musical sense of yearning which slowly transitions to unleashed energy. The musicians use a variety of effects including echoes, playing inside the piano, reverberating cymbals and breathing through the sax to create modern chamber music soundscapes on “Currie’s Notes” and “Where I Saw You Last.” The ascending mood of “(The Route)” demonstrates the trio’s ability to react and interact in a classic display of free improvisation. Genovese closes out the recording on organ with  “Follow the Light,” a densely rich piece on which he builds layer upon layer over a basso ostinato. Additional credits for Unknown (I Will Find You) should also go to sound designer Chris Connors and Alan Harris for his brief spoken word appearances on the title track and “The Perplexity of Eternity.” Although one must admire Rodriguez for being so open about his feelings, the music of Unknown (I Will Find You) lacks any sense of joy and happiness that might come from celebrating a life well lived.

BOTTOM LINE: To paraphrase the last line of Casey at the Bat, there is no joy in drummer Willy Rodriguez’s new recording. The music of In The Unknown (I Will Find You) is full of grief and longing as drummer Rodriguez reflects on the death of his mother. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and piano/organ player Leo Genovese are very much in touch with Rodriguez’s feelings as they navigate the seven emotionally laden tunes in a heartfelt, yet abstract manner.