The jazz trio, especially the chordless jazz trio, has long been a genre staple, and has historically provided a vehicle for the boldest of musicians to venture forth and explore new territory. New Jazz Underground (“NJU”), a viral internet sensation of a trio comprising saxophonist/vocalist Abdias Armenteros, bassist Sebastian Rios, and drummer T.J. Reddick has been lauded for this very thing. Described by NPR Music as “classy and classic,” NJU are a group of musicians who “clearly know the jazz tradition but push at the corners of hard bop and hip-hop.” (NPR, 2024). Assembled during the COVID-19 pandemic to perform in open-air spaces as a way to cope and survive, the trio quickly became a powerhouse of three unified minds whose history-crossing sensibilities took the hearts and minds of their listeners, both in-person and across the internet, by storm. Now, after having performed, as the band poignantly states, “from the streets all the way to the stage of Newport Jazz Festival” in the span of only a few years, NJU releases “Hoodies” on May 29, an homage to brotherhood, culture, and identity.