Infinity II ~ reviews
Jazzwise (UK) - review
“a bold, adventurous journey that offers many rewards in terms of musicianship and sonic ambition.… For fans of exploratory jazz/ambient hybrids, it’s well worth engaging with – there’s plenty to enjoy here.”
UK VIBE
It’s part of a lineage stretching from Bitches Brew to modern explorations by artists like Nils Petter Molvær and Flying Lotus, where improvisation and electronics blur into atmosphere.
Jazz Views (UK)
Jazz Magazine (FR) - review - “His charged, dense, and expressive tone, within an ambitiously constructed blend of jazz, electronics, and ambient music, once again pushes him to refine both his writing and his expansive improvisations, sketching the outlines of sonic landscapes and shifting atmospheres built around cyclical, exploratory forms”
Jazz Journal (UK) - album recommendation
Jazztrail (USA) - review
Radio Krakow (PL) - airplay
Esnesja (PL) - review
Era Jazzu (PL) - review
Blue in Green (UK) - review
Jazz Views (UK) - review - It’s part of a lineage stretching from Bitches Brew to modern explorations by artists like Nils Petter Molvær and Flying Lotus, where improvisation and electronics blur into atmosphere.
Jazzthing (DE) - review - On a mesh of electronic sounds, finely-meshed, lace-like drum beats and sparingly woven piano chords, the expansive melodic lines of the Sydney-based saxophonist Jeremy Rose unfold. With his quartet — together with pianist Novak Manojlovic, drummer Tully Ryan and Ben Carey on modular synthesiser — his new album Infinity II has now been released, a live recording from the Lazybones Lounge in Marrickville, Sydney.
The exploration of infinity reveals itself in the ever-new possibilities of immersive, minimal sound shifts and sensitive textures that interlock with one another, only to fan out spectrally again — as a meditation on memory, ritual and mindfulness
UK Vibe (UK) - review
Radio ARA (LU) - airplay
Jazz Magazine (FR) - review - “His charged, dense, and expressive tone, within an ambitiously constructed blend of jazz, electronics, and ambient music, once again pushes him to refine both his writing and his expansive improvisations, sketching the outlines of sonic landscapes and shifting atmospheres built around cyclical, exploratory forms”
Don’t dive into the new recording by Australian saxophonist Jeremy Rose looking for his latest tweaks on the straight-ahead tradition. Instead, for his 26th release, Rose reassembles his Infinity project and pushes jazz further into a détente with electronic music genres like ambient. At times Infinity II sounds like it’s splitting the difference between some of SML’s jazzier moments and Promises, the 2021 collaboration between electronic music star Floating Points, jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra. In other words, it’s much more mesmerizing than finger-popping.
Rose, who is based in Sydney, has played with internationally renowned guitarists like Lionel Loueke and Kurt Rosenwinkel. For Infinity, he gathered stellar locals including pianist Novak Manojlovic, drummer Tully Ryan, and synthesist Ben Carey. The ten tunes effectively recall landscapes, seascapes, and dreamscapes.
As was the case with the previous Infinity, this album was recorded live, this time at Sydney’s Lazybones Lounge—a potent reminder that meditative music has a home far beyond the yoga studio. It begins with “Full Moon,” a tune that seeps into the consciousness like a gentle tide rolling in. Rose’s reeds lead, Ryan’s percussion follows, while Carey and Manojlovic add key accents. On “The Great Wave of Kanagawa,” Ryan’s percussion briefly recalls the ’90s sounds of drum and bass. “Resonance,” one of the most strident pieces, is pointed enough to imagine an electric bass in the mix. Many of the other track titles—“Impermanence,” “Ephemeral Dance,” and “Tides”—describe their vibe well.
It’s a meditative experience that never gets lost in the granola.
★★★★
Downbeat US, Martin Johnson
Jeremy Rose – Infinity II
Earshift Music EAR097 (CD, DL)
**** EDITOR’S CHOICE
Jeremy Rose (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Novak Manojlovic (keyboards, synthesiser), Ben Carey (modular synthesiser) and Tully Ryan (drums). Recording date not stated.
As one of Australia’s most critically lauded and prolific jazz musicians, saxophonist Jeremy Rose appears to be in a constant state of musical evolution. This is his second album with this exploratory quartet, whose debut Project Infinity: Live at Phoenix Central Park earned glowing reviews and revealed genuine chemistry. It is also Rose’s 26th album—an impressive milestone that hints at the restless creative energy the 41-year-old is now widely respected for.
Rose’s higher-profile projects include The Vampires, whose fifth album Meets Lionel Loueke marked their international breakthrough. He has also collaborated with Kurt Rosenwinkel and founded the Earshift Orchestra (and the Earshift Music imprint), among a dizzying array of collaborations, commissions, and ambitious—often socio-political—works.
Infinity II feels like something of a release. The set flows as a single continuous improvisation, with Carey’s tastefully restrained modular synths adding fizzing textures to the deep dialogue between Rose’s burnished tenor tone and velvety bass clarinet, and Manojlovic’s oceanic keys. The latter mostly sit on a juicy Rhodes sound, lending continuity as the mood and pace shift. This spaciousness gives drummer Tully Ryan room to whip and cajole the dynamics, and it’s thanks to his sense of form and quick-witted instincts that the music never drags or loses momentum—he’s got chops aplenty, too.
Alongside recent electro-jazz releases such as James Holden and Wacław Zimpel’s The Universe Will Take Care of You, and the work of inventive modular synth artists like Arushi Jain—each blurring the boundaries of improvised electronica—Jeremy Rose’s Infinity II fits seamlessly into this new, immersive continuum.
—Mike Flynn, Jazzwise (Dec 2025 / Jan 2026)
“a bold, adventurous journey that offers many rewards in terms of musicianship and sonic ambition.… For fans of exploratory jazz/ambient hybrids, it’s well worth engaging with – there’s plenty to enjoy here.”
Jeremy Rose’s Infinity II is a bold, adventurous journey that offers many rewards in terms of musicianship and sonic ambition. Recorded live at the Lazybones Lounge in Marrickville, Sydney, the quartet reunites Rose (saxophones, bass clarinet) with pianist/keyboardist Novak Manojlovic, drummer Tully Ryan, and modular synth artist Ben Carey. The record is conceived as a single unfolding gesture, with recurring motifs, shifting textures, and temporal echoes weaving through ten movements.
Musically, the playing is compelling. Rose’s saxophone lines, drenched in reverb, delay, and lyrical subtlety, are deftly responsive to the surrounding sonic landscapes. Manojlovic’s keyboards and synths often anchor harmonic motion or provide gentle counterpoint. Ryan’s drumming alternates between minimalist pulse and dynamic propulsion, and Carey’s modular contributions bring depth and otherworldly colour, especially in moments where electronics drift into ambient washes.
Some of the concepts really work well, but to my ears at least, the electronic elements sometimes feel like appendages rather than fully integrated voices. There are stretches where synth textures and modular feedback seem superimposed rather than born from the same musical logic as the acoustic improvisations. In those moments, the album’s internal balance wavers: the dialogue between instruments and electronics doesn’t always feel seamless.
Some tracks succeed more convincingly than others. “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and “Perpetual Motion” deliver immersive, tension-laden interplay; “Ephemeral Dance” flirts with lyrical fragility. But there are places where the narrative thread loosens, and transitions feel abrupt or undercooked.
Overall, Infinity II is an interesting album with strong performances. The conceptual aim is inspiring, and the recording offers up some impressive moments, but as a listening experience it doesn’t always hang together with the structural unity it aspires to. For fans of exploratory jazz/ambient hybrids, it’s well worth engaging with-there’s plenty to enjoy here.
UK VIBE
