The Free Jazz Collective
Reviews of Free Jazz and Improvised Music
Monday, December 2025
Trumpet Trios Galore
By Stef Gijssels
Royal Flux – Fluxuations (Self-Produced, 2025)
And now for something completely different. Or not. The trio of Royal Flux
brings an interesting inter-stylistic or eclectic combination of improvised
music with a “nu jazz” sound and funky rhythms. The trio are Sarah Kramer on
trumpet, flugelhorn, effects, percussion and sounds, voice, Joe Berardi on
drums, percussion, electronics and sounds, and Jorge Calderón on bass and
percussion.
Kramer released her debut album, “Home”, “, in 2013 and was mostly active as a
session musician, and probably best know from the trumpet part in Leonard
Cohen’s “Dear Heather”. The rhythm section is also relatively new to me, with
little references of other output.
Listeners drawn to Nils Petter Molvar or late- period Miles Davis may take to
this album. It doesn’t strive for grand artistic statements; it’s simply fun.
The sound may come across as somewhat synthetic-perhaps too tidy or programmatic
for this blog’s usual tastes-but its cool vibe and infectious energy make it
worth your attention.
Royal Flux
FLUXUATIONS
(private) CD 56m
A most unusual improvising jazz trio, Royal Flux hail from Los Angeles,
California, and comprise: Sarah Kramer (trumpet, flugelhorn, effects,
percussion, sounds, voice), Joe Berardi (drums, percussion, electronics, sounds)
and Jorge Calderón (bass, percussion), achieving a sound that is simultaneously
sparse whilst also far more richly crafted than what one would expect. With
Sarah’s horns as the lead instruments, and a tight jazz fusion rhythm section,
they manage to go through as many style variations as there are tracks – 14 of
them! They both break conventions and acknowledge influences, the track title
Miles Shorter being the most obvious dedication.
Click to see album on Bandcamp…
Royal Flux is an improvising trio from Los Angeles consisting of Sarah Kramer on trumpet, flugelhorn, effects, percussion and sounds, Joe Berardi on drums, percussion, electronics and sounds, and Jorge Calderón on electric bass. They each come from different backgrounds, both musically and geographically, but together they create a unified and focused sonic environment. Blending acoustic and electronic sounds, they conjure up improvised cinematic soundscapes that go well beyond categorization or genre. They can be spacious and atmospheric, but a groove is never far from their grasp. Their spontaneous collective compositions are both cerebral and accessible, with a keen ear for form and rhythm.
The members of Royal Flux have worked and collaborated with a diverse and wide-ranging group of musicians, including Leonard Cohen, Wadada Leo Smith, El Rayo-X, Lydia Lunch, Ry Cooder, The Fibonaccis, Warren Zevon, Bo Diddley and Malcolm Mooney.
Sarah Kramer’s New Release! – Matter Of Time (2017)
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