Warren Wolf - LYDIALIEBMAN.COM

SMOOVE VIBES
Release Date: April 24, 2026

SMOOVE VIBES is the new album by Baltimore-born vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf, whose work over the past two decades has placed the vibraphone at the center of a wide-ranging career as a bandleader, composer, sideman, and educator. Recorded primarily in Wolf’s home basement using Logic Pro X, the album features Wolf performing vibraphone, marimba, drums, piano, Fender Rhodes, B3 organ, vocals, and all sampled elements on the majority of the record, before bringing in longtime collaborators to complete the ensemble.

In addition to Wolf, SMOOVE VIBES features Brandon Lane on electric bass, Brent Birckhead on alto saxophone, flute, and vocals, Terence Cunningham on organ, Elan Troutman on soprano saxophone, and Imani-Grace Cooper on vocals. All five musicians perform regularly with Wolf and appear here as a working unit shaped by repeated bandstand experience rather than a one-off studio project.

“I decided to create this record because I want to reach out to people across the world,” Wolf says. “I want them to hear jazz but with a twist — without any elements of surprise, without having to think too hard when listening. The album is meant for people to sit back and have fun.”

Wolf grew up in Baltimore City surrounded by music. Jazz, pop, soul, classical music, and blues played regularly in his father’s basement, alongside the R&B, rap, and early Def Jam records played by his older sisters. As a teenager and young musician, Wolf spent years watching his father’s band work throughout the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area during the 1980s and ’90s. Those bands emphasized groove, melody, and presentation, playing to hold crowds and fill main stages.

Wolf began formal music study at age three and trained on vibraphone, marimba, piano, and drums. He studied at the Peabody Institute’s preparatory program for eight years, graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts, and continued his education at Berklee College of Music. After returning to Baltimore, he established himself as a bandleader, releasing multiple albums under his own name and building a catalogue that consistently foregrounds vibraphone-led writing and performance. That body of work includes a run of releases on Mack Avenue Records, where he expanded his audience while continuing to balance groove-oriented projects with straight-ahead jazz contexts.

Alongside his work as a leader, Wolf has maintained an active presence as a sideman and ensemble member. He has performed extensively with Christian McBride’s Inside Straight and spent more than a decade as a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, touring internationally and contributing to the group’s repertory-driven model. He currently teaches at the Peabody Institute and San Francisco Conservatory of Music/RJAM while maintaining a full performing schedule.

That accumulated experience feeds directly into SMOOVE VIBES. Wolf tracked full performances at home, built arrangements instrument by instrument, and shaped the material before entering the studio. He first worked this way on his 2020 album Christmas Vibes and expanded the method here, using his home setup to define feel and structure before recording additional parts with his bandmates.

The album opens with “Fábrica,” a composition by Brazilian composer Cesar Camargo Mariano that Wolf first encountered during a short tour with drummer and producer Karriem Riggins in the week following Michael Jackson’s death. That group included bassist Joe Sanders, DJs Pete Rock and Dummy, and the late Mulgrew Miller, with performances at Yoshi’s in Oakland, the Triple Door in Seattle, and the Dakota in Minneapolis. On SMOOVE VIBES, Wolf performs every part on “Fábrica” except bass, with Brandon Lane providing the rhythmic foundation alongside Wolf’s drumming.

One of the album’s central originals, “Will the Real Kenny Gee Please Stand Up?,” takes its title from Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” and features Elan Troutman on soprano saxophone. Troutman studied alongside Wolf at Berklee College of Music and now teaches ensembles there. Troutman has featured Wolf on earlier projects and values his ability to support groove-centered material with clarity and focus.

Alongside original compositions, SMOOVE VIBES draws from a repertoire shaped by groove and familiarity, including material by Ramsey Lewis, Dave Brubeck, Randy Brecker, Greg Howe, and Lennon/McCartney. Wolf also points to long-standing listening influences such as D’Angelo, Kenny Garrett, the Brecker Brothers, the Isley Brothers, John Scofield, and Miles Davis, citing Davis in particular for his insistence that musicians continue to grow and expand their music.

“I appreciate all of the musicians on the record because they listened to my vision,” Wolf says. “What I needed from them was to make the album SMOOVE VIBES— fun and enjoyable.”

History of the Vibraphone
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Label: Cellar Music Group

History of the Vibraphone, is the eagerly-awaited upcoming album from renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer Warren Wolf. This expansive new project offers listener a comprehensive study of jazz lineage which pays homage to the great architects of the vibraphone including Roy Ayers, Terry Gibbs, Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton, Roy Ayers, Dave Samuels and Joe Locke. On the subject of the vibraphone, there is no more capable arbiter than Wolf, whose deep study and love for the instrument has been imbued into his work as a bandleader as well as a notable sideman to the very frontline of jazz icons. Alongside Wolf, this lively release features saxophonist Tim Green, pianist Alex Brown, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Carroll “CV” Dashiell III.

Baltimore’s own Warren Wolf began his musical studies at the age of three under the tutelage of his father Warren Wolf Sr. Classically trained on the vibraphone, marimba, drums and piano at a young age, Wolf’s trajectory was inevitable. Wolf attended Baltimore School for the Arts and then Berklee College of Music, where he became a fixture on the Boston music scene, soon-after becoming a professor in Berklee’s percussion department. Since leaving Berklee in 2005, Wolf has built a stellar career and reputation within the international jazz scene, performing and recording extensively with jazz icon Christian McBride, and recording his own releases for Mack Avenue Records. Wolf’s 2023 release Chano Pozo: Origins garnered wide-spread critical acclaim, featuring Wolf on all instruments and celebrating his multi-instrumental nature in true form. History of the Vibraphone shows an enthusiastic focus back on his primary instrument, the vibraphone.

Drawing inspiration from Anthony Smith's book "Masters of the Vibes," which highlights intimate conversations with legendary vibraphonists, Wolf has crafted an album that pays homage to some of the greatest vibraphone players in history. "What I decided to do on 'History of the Vibraphone' is to play material from some of the top players who've ever held a pair of mallets in their hands," Wolf explains.

The album begins with Terry Gibbs’ bright-tempoed “Bopsticle Course”, on which Wolf channels Gibbs’ jovial spirit, imbued with his own soulfulness and technical finesse. The album continues with Lionel Hampton’s “Midnight Sun”, delivered here with nuance and a wistful air. “Herzog” is a composition by a hero of Wolf’s, jazz luminary Bobby Hutcherson. Wolf indicates “Bobby Hutcherson was one of my favorite people to ever play the Vibraphone. He completely modernized the sound of the instrument playing with the likes of Freddy Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Eric Dolphy, and many more. “Herzog” is his original composition and you can really hear the band soar on this song.”

“Sad Eyes” channels the understated hipness of Cal Tjader. Well supported by the steadfast rhythm section, Wolf delivers a solo that is a masterwork of lyricism and melodic development. Harnessing an adjacent hipness, Wolf delivers a stunning rendition of Roy Ayers’ “Vibrations”, giving the group the opportunity to stretch out over a groove. Wolf notes “ Roy Ayers is the Godfather of the Vibraphone. He, like many others, was a big straight ahead jazz musician, but eventually branched over into hip-hop, R&B, and soul music. “Vibrations” is his original that shows his early jazz roots but with soul and groove.”

“Spring High” is a composition by Wolf’s former teacher at Berklee College of Music, Dave Samuels. “He was probably one of the most famous Vibraphone players in the 1980s with the fusion jazz group Spyro Gyra” indicates Wolf. This composition truly showcases the sounds of the 1980s adult contemporary music sound that Samuels was such a driving force behind.

The album concludes with Wolf’s original composition “I See You, Baby, Lookin At Me”. The piece features a lyrical melody that seems to harken the meter of the title. The piece does a great job in summating Wolf’s inspirations into a contemporary piece, demonstrating his own sound - his own place in the pantheon of the jazz vibraphone.Wolf’s every melodic passage imbues a command of the history and lineage of jazz, and of the vibraphone - with a modern spirit.

History of the Vibraphone promises to be a landmark release, offering listeners an enriching experience that celebrates the past while paving the way for future explorations of the instrument.

Wolf's meticulous selection and interpretation of pieces from legendary artists highlight his deep respect and admiration for their contributions to music. "There's so much music that I wish I could have included on History of the Vibraphone. Maybe we'll have to save that for History of the Vibraphone, Part II,'" Wolf muses. This eagerly-anticipated release will go far to cement Wolf’s stature within the history of the vibraphone.