The Aug. 22 edition of Greasy Tracks features an interview with Russ Anixter who discussed What Next?, the just-released album by The Hippie Big Band, his 11-piece ensemble.
f you missed it, here’s the archive, while a playlist is here.
Recorded during a two-day session this past February at The Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, NY., Anixter and his cohorts’ nine-track effort serves as an impressive follow-up to their 2025 debut, What Is?
The digital version of the new album includes a bonus cut — Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
The project continues Anixter’s distinctive blend of big-band jazz, rock, funk and blues with an emphasis on heavy improvisation.
As with What Is?, Anixter transforms familiar material — this time from The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield, Grateful Dead, Eugene McDaniels and Miles Davis — into expansive arrangements marked by colorful horn writing and adventurous solos.
On Sept. 16, ace guitarist Oz Noy and his rhythm section will be joined by members of the Hippie Big Band (brass, saxes and vibes) at the Bitter End in New York City. Showtime is 9:30 p.m.