There is something energetic about the name of this Toronto quintet, JabFung. Although it is more related to the initials of bassist Julian Anderson-Bowes (Jab) and the last name of drummer Anthony Fung, the word still sounds a bit like a punch (a jab) combined with funk. In short, it’s very personal, but I think you will probably feel the intensity and groove that it implies throughout the eight generous tracks of the program offered on In Real Life, the band’s second album after the very good Epoch released in 2025.
JabFung’s music is therefore based on sustained rhythmic energy, formed of complex lines onto which modern harmonies, sinuous but generally sunny, are grafted. Fairly free improvisations excite the listener while remaining tinged with optimism, I would even say with good humor.
JabFung does not offer complex atmospheres “to seem sophisticated.” From this group emerges rather a sincere and contagious pleasure, that of making music that stimulates and surprises, that gives as much as it dares to demand, that welcomes and disturbs, all at the same time.
I was talking to you earlier about a tenacious energy, but I should clarify that it is not aggressive at all. It would be more enveloping, and we are at its center. Each piece is like a whirlwind, more or less intense, of fragments of melodies swirling in a setting of summer urbanity. One of them eventually unfolds fully, as if to give an overview of the city, before sweeping us away once more.
The most exciting piece of the ensemble, I think, is Skander, inspired by a tumultuous taxi ride in downtown Montreal. Indeed, it captures the feverish sensations of instinctive driving, almost a virtuosic improvisation through the mazes induced by traffic, detours, and other zigzags in our unforgettable, slightly chaotic urban hive. Zaldivar goes for particularly inspired bursts of spectacular virtuosity. Breathless, but memorable!
The five musicians are of very high caliber. If the band is based in Toronto, it is worth noting the presence of trumpeter Adam O’Farrill (from Brooklyn) and Quebecer Rafael Zaldivar on piano. A kind of instinctive synergy is established between the five soloists, and thus all the compositions, all original, are fantastically enhanced.
In Real Life pulses with an exhilarating life and propels a listening pleasure that will find its way onto my Best of 2026 list.
Luis Deniz: Alto Saxophone
Adam O’Farrill: Trumpet
Rafael Zaldivar: Piano
Julian Anderson-Bowes: Bass
Anthony Fung: Drums
