BY JONATHAN LEVITT

The Nextgen jazz quartet, composed  of both current and former NEC students, made their NYC debut at the esteemed Birdland jazz club. Ye Huang and his crew of musicians laid it down hard for the capacity audience, and once they hit their stride, were untouchable. It’s been a long road for the band to get to this stage, having recently come off a tour in China.

Just like when I reviewed the album earlier this year, I can tell that each musician has a virtuosic streak running through their veins because a few times the band seemed to pulling in different directions. That said, when it gelled as it did for much of the concert,  the energy and elation felt in the room was palpable. I offer up a Chris Mondak tune for Blurt readers  to get a sense of what I experienced that electric evening here in Manhattan. Watch the video, below.