| Jazz |
Guitarist and composer Joshua Achiron introduces himself to the wider world with Climbing, a debut album whose title feels less like a metaphor than a mission statement. Beginnings, after all, are a kind of ascent, uncertain, muscle-testing, and defined as much by resolve as by ambition. In Achiron’s case, the climb is artistic as much as professional. What emerges across the record is not merely a showcase of instrumental prowess, but a carefully constructed body of work that bridges inherited jazz traditions and a distinctly modern strain of fusion that bears his unmistakable imprint.
The album traces its origins to a July 2023 performance at the Showcase alongside the Bradfield group, a night Achiron describes as transformative. “It was the most important musical evening of my career,” he recalls. “One of those rare nights that reminds you why you started playing in the first place. This project was an attempt to recreate that experience.” That sense of urgency — of trying to bottle lightning without losing its volatility, animates the recording.
Climbing occupies an intriguing space between live spontaneity and studio introspection. Its textures suggest improvisation and sonic experimentation, yet the compositions themselves are deliberate and architecturally sound. The pieces feel as though they originate in a deeply interior landscape, less concerned with stylistic lineage than with emotional trajectory. “These pieces were written with the intention of going through trials and coming out stronger,” Achiron explains. “They’re there to inspire us and remind us that we aim for progress, not perfection.”
The result is an album that moves fluidly between tension and lyricism. There are passages of romantic reflection that act as emotional counterweights to the more exploratory moments, replenishing the listener before the next ascent. Each track unfolds like a self-contained world, a new day, even a new artistic reckoning. The cumulative effect is immersive rather than episodic; the album rewards attentive listening, revealing layers of thematic continuity beneath its surface dynamism.
Over repeated listens, one becomes increasingly aware that Achiron’s greatest strength may lie not solely in his guitar work, which, while technically assured, occasionally leans on familiar tonal palettes, but in his compositional voice. The writing radiates confidence and intention. The ensemble’s cohesion further amplifies that impact, lending the record a sense of collective momentum that enhances the listening experience. There is a palpable pleasure in the interplay: musicians attuned to one another, navigating intricate arrangements without sacrificing emotional immediacy.
Achiron approaches composition with a notably conceptual mindset. Rather than affixing inspirational quotations as ornamental gestures, he has used them as generative catalysts. “I used these quotes to write the music,” he says. “I simply tried to imagine what it would sound like if someone were speaking them in a film or a speech. How would the atmosphere be shaped by those words?” This method lends the album a cinematic quality; the music often feels like an unseen narrative unfolding just beyond the frame. One could easily imagine future projects extending this approach into fully realized thematic suites, spoken-word collaborations, or narrative-driven recordings that make the conceptual scaffolding even more explicit.
If Climbing succeeds as a debut, it also gestures toward possibility. A broader exploration of guitar textures, from acoustic interludes to more adventurous effects or alternate tunings, could introduce sharper contrasts and prevent tonal familiarity from settling in. Given the project’s origins in a singular live performance, the release of live session recordings or alternate takes might further capture the kinetic immediacy that first inspired the album. Likewise, while the group’s cohesion is a clear asset, allowing individual musicians more extended spotlight moments could deepen the dynamic range and underscore the collaborative spirit at the heart of the music.
There is also room to strengthen the album’s overarching arc. Though each track stands convincingly on its own, a more pronounced connective thread, whether through recurring motifs, subtle thematic reprises, or a clearer narrative progression, could heighten the sense of ascent implied by the title. Such structural through-lines would not constrain Achiron’s exploratory instincts; rather, they would frame them, giving the listener an even more compelling sense of journey.
In intellectualizing his art, Achiron aligns himself with a long tradition of composers who view structure and emotion not as opposites but as partners. A deep listen reveals a young artist already thinking in large arcs, shaping motifs with deliberation and daring to let ideas breathe. If this album represents the first stage of an ascent, it is one undertaken with clear-eyed ambition and a storyteller’s instinct. Through the strength of his writing, and with thoughtful expansion of the possibilities already present here, Joshua Achiron signals that he has many stories yet to tell, stories rooted in everyday experience yet elevated by melodies that venture confidently beyond familiar terrain.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, February 24th 2026
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Musicians :
JOSHUA ACHIRON: guitar
GEOF BRADFIELD: tenor saxophone
CLARK SOMMERS: bass
DANA HALL: drums
Track Listing :
Troubles Become Triumphs
The Papaya King
The Only Way Is Through
Climbing
Mean Machine
The Pain That Hurts
The Pain That Alters
Take The Coltrane
Tracks 1-7 composed by Joshua Achiron
Track 8 composed by Duke Ellington
Recorded at Pro Musica, Chicago
IL Engineered, mixed and mastered by Ken Christianson