Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer takes a stab at several different jazz subgenres with great success on his new LP.
Release date: July 17, 2026 | Org Music | Bandcamp | Instagram
Apparently, 2026 is the year for former punk bassists to release jazz albums, as evidenced by Flea‘s wild solo project Honora. While I enjoyed that record, I am here to definitively say that Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer wins this (admittedly niche) category with the release of his excellent album The Weather Channel.
Jenifer is no stranger to genre-hopping, even during his decades-long tenure with Bad Brains, who very clearly shaped the forward progression of hardcore punk in ways that people smarter than me have already discussed at length. His 2010 debut In Search of Black Judas veered almost punkabilly at times, with heavily distorted guitars and a psychedelic organ for good measure. But the roots of The Weather Channel are there, hidden beneath his smooth vocals atop reggae dub, hinting at Jenifer’s interest in exploring a variety of jazz-adjacent subgenres within the same tracks and song collections.
The Weather Channel, which sees Jenifer collaborate with percussionist Ben Perowsky, guitarist Karma Marco, and keyboardist John Medeski, is a relaxed-yet-gripping tour through a variety of sounds ranging from dub to psych to progressive rock to jazz fusion. I like that while Jenifer and his band definitely have a home in the smoother jazz sound on this album, they take the time to dip their toes into a lot of different places, which keeps the record from falling into repetition while maintaining a consistent tone.
One of the big selling points for The Weather Channel is Jenifer’s reinterpretations of two Bad Brains songs off of the legendary I Against I, “Sacred Love” and “Re-Ignition”. The Weather Channel opens with “Sacred Love II”, a very classy Guaraldian take on the track that is so distinct from the original, a layman might not even notice what they are listening to. Jenifer shines on the standing bass here, muted but integral to the construction of the track as a whole. “Re-Ignition II” plays it a little closer to the source material, with big blown-out guitars, but the main melody takes a turn closer to Herbie Mann with the ’70s jazz flute and saxophone lines. I think Jenifer hit the nail on the head with the inclusion of these two tracks; they are good callbacks to his most well-known project, but unique enough to stand on their own.
“Punkbomba” is The Weather Channel at its most CASIOPEA, harnessing Japanese jazz fusion guitars, retro synths, and sunny rhythms to bring a bit of the beach to the back half of the album. Jenifer once again proves that he understands the role of his instrument in his own compositions, holding down the tricky time signature shifts and central grooves with expected aplomb. I heard a lot of Victor Wooten on this track as well as a few others, which makes sense considering his legend status and signature thumpy playing, which Jenifer alludes to but never quite copies, instead showing off his own versatility as the album’s core chameleon.
The Weather Channel isn’t just all jazz, though. “Rock Love” goes almost full punk for a moment before turning into a Plini song, proggy and what I can only describe as using a ‘scrongly’ guitar tone. There are bits and pieces of Rush on this album as well, particularly in this track, as well as “End Finity”, which contains a riff that would be right at home in the Hemispheres era.
The Weather Channel is one of my most-listened-to albums this year, simply for the fact that I vibe with the sheer amount of improvisation and experimentation around a critical mass of just damn good jazz. Even if you are unfamiliar with some of the influences on this album, or if you only know Jenifer’s work in the hardcore scene, it’s worth your time.
