“A massive veteran trio…bassist Stephan Crump and alto saxophonist Darius Jones are not just immense players, they’re also two of the city’s great creative music composers, pushing it into wondrous, unexpected but also inviting spaces.
Piotr Orlov - DadaStrain
This is the metamorphosis of Borderlands Trio, which was active from 2017 to 2024. When that band went on hiatus, Eric and I looked for a means to continue developing our deep bond. We were blessed to connect with Darius whose spirit and artistry have taken the trio into another orbit altogether. Booking contact for U.S. is here and for Europe is here.
OTHerlands Trio
STEPHAN CRUMP · acoustic bass
DARIUS JONES · alto saxophone
ERIC MCPHERSON · drums
ALBUMS
DEBUT ALBUM STAR MOUNTAIN
AVAILABLE NOW
ON INTAKT RECORDS
“the sound of freedom and the revolutionary spirit, the truth marching in”
AllAboutJazz (concert review)
“perhaps the most remarkable thing about this frequently amazing concert: the level of formal, technical and conceptual sophistication at work in music that was apparently freely and spontaneously composed”
AllAboutJazz (concert review)
“a music of sublimated, emotive speculation, setting the listener’s mind on the very edge of knowing”
Morning Star
“the three create rhapsodies of riffs, sirens and sometimes agonised instrumental voices as if they were heralding a new age of sound”
Morning Star
“Best of 2025”
One Man’s Jazz
“the trio showcased the dynamic range of not only themselves as players, but of each of their instruments, illustrating new and interesting musical possibilities through non-conventional use of their tools creating lush landscapes of noise and sound interweaved and juxtaposed against moments of groove, soul, and of course: swing”
Amsterdam News
“Together, the trio questioned audience notions about the definition, dynamic range, and possibilities of what is considered jazz”
Amsterdam News
“moments of conventional beauty existed alongside more eclectic and abrasive passages”
Amsterdam News
“This band has all the tools at its disposal”
Big Butter & Egg Man: Layman on Jazz and Culture
“McPherson, Crump, and Jones are sonically rich players, each with a distinctive, pure sound on their instrument, and they mold those sounds into a group identity.”
Big Butter & Egg Man: Layman on Jazz and Culture
“Can a whole concert, a whole album of non-composed music be consistently brilliant? I think so, and Otherlands Trio proves my point.”
Big Butter & Egg Man: Layman on Jazz and Culture
“urgent, powerful music full of atmosphere and extraordinary sound”
Big Butter & Egg Man: Layman on Jazz and Culture
“Each member of Otherlands Trio brings a fully realized musical identity to the group, united in a collective pursuit of freedom that transforms raw improvisation into vivid, finely textured sonic canvases”
JazzTrail
“an improvisation-centered ensemble whose elliptical and sectional journeys yield revelatory musical discoveries”
JazzTrail
“Bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Eric McPherson, two of jazz’s most forward-thinking rhythmists”
JazzTrail
“Rad jazz, not dad jazz: Otherlands Trio defy expectations and classification”
Washingtonian
“The enormous energy unleashed by this trio unfolds in meticulous detail”
Kultkomplott
“Otherlands Trio is magic”
AllAboutJazz
"Star Mountain is brilliant"
One Man’s Jazz
“A massive veteran trio…bassist Stephan Crump and alto saxophonist Darius Jones are not just immense players, they’re also two of the city’s great creative music composers, pushing it into wondrous, unexpected but also inviting spaces.”
DadaStrain