EVER AFTER

Bassist, producer, and songwriter Joshua Crumbly has just released what might be the bass album of the year, https://joshuacrumbly.bandcamp.com/album/forever ForEver—an atmospheric, unpredictable collection of songs that cover a whole range of territory. This will come as little surprise to anyone familiar with his career as a recording and touring bassist with artists such as Kamasi Washington, Leon Bridges, and Terence Blanchard. Crumbly’s debut album Risewas released in 2020, and together with the new release, adds up to a body of work that has been a long time in the making.

Congratulations on ForEver, Joshua. Tell us about the album.

I’ll never forget the day I decided to do it. I had actually just finished my first record, and I felt really proud of myself—like, ‘Okay, my work is done for a while’. I was in Florida on tour, and this number that I didn’t have in my phone called me. I picked up, and it was the bassist Shahzad Ismaily. He said, ‘Hey, this is Shahzad—you need