New Album: Bassist Noah Young, Noah

Bassist and composer Noah Young has released his new album Noah, available now across all digital platforms. Produced by GRAMMY Award-winner Jamison Ross, the record frames Young’s deepening compositional voice through a lens of groove, atmosphere, and emotional clarity.

Across eleven tracks, Noah showcases Young’s evolving voice in the world of modern instrumental jazz. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Derrick Hodge and Pino Palladino, Young approaches the bass as both a rhythmic anchor and a storyteller balancing melody, pulse, and production detail in equal measure. “I wanted this record to be felt more than analyzed,” he says. “To live in that space between reflection and motion.”

The album opens with “The Dream,” an otherworldly prelude conceived accidentally in the studio when engineer Mack Major reversed the tracks of “Early Morning” and invited Martin Masakowski to bow along on upright bass. The result became a sonic apparition that sets the tone for the record’s reflective interiority. The album’s lead single “Early Morning” follows with layered upright and electric bass lines from Young and Masakowski who orbit each other on the low end, yet offer contrasting offerings on the frequency spectrum with Young playing the melody on electric and Masakowski accompanying on both upright and backbeat percussion made by dropping car keys onto his bass’ body.

The second single, “Fly On The Wall,” captures the golden-hour ease of a slow drive at dusk. Anchored by Young’s lyrical bass melody and Alfred Jordan’s patient groove, the track floats over Shea Pierre’s synth bass and Sam Kuslan’s harmonic beds before guitarist John Maestas pushes it toward its luminous close. “That song felt like watching life happen,” Young recalls. “Shea and Jamison wrote the B section and outro in real time—it was a true collaboration.”

“Babycat’s Melody” finds beauty in accident, born from a moment when a cat named Babycat jumped onto the piano and struck three notes that became the seed of a tune. “Nightcrawler” channels the unsettling minimalism of Thundercat’s work on To Pimp a Butterfly  with bass work that feels equal parts meditative and menacing. The midsection of the album, including “Raines” and “Gemini,” explores harmonic voicings inspired by bassist Justin Raines’ chordal studies. These compositions use Young’s bass as both harmonic instrument and rhythmic center, while Jordan’s intentionally dry drum tones keep the pocket intimate and close.

“Hurricane Season,” written during a storm in 2020, mirrors the volatility of the weather outside Young’s New Orleans window with interlocking piano and bass motifs. “Shadows” provides the record’s most open rhythmic space with an unhurried stretch where Jordan’s drums and Kuslan’s distorted Rhodes solo push the track toward catharsis.

The album closes with “Light in the Dark,” a groove-forward piece stripped down to three bass tracks, claps, and snaps. Initially an unfinished demo, the song was left intentionally sparse. “It ended up being the most honest track,” Young says. “There was no overthinking, just a pulse that felt alive.”

Noah’s coherence lies not in uniformity but in intention with each track presenting a vignette of how Young hears the bass as a multidimensional instrument. Ross’s production underscores that approach, emphasizing dry drums, warm low-end detail, and an almost tactile sense of space. “Jamison’s production on Mykal Kilgore’s A Man Born Black made me want him for this record,” says Young. “He brings a drummer’s sense of time to the production process. It’s precise, but still breathes.”

“This record is me learning to leave space,” says Young. “It’s less about showing what I can do on the instrument and more about creating an environment that feels alive—where the listener can slow down, breathe, and  see themselves in the sound.”

For more information, visit noahyoungbass.com