Out Now: Phil Lentz Presents… Vol. II by Phil Lentz, a Former Political Reporter’s Second Jazz Album
Out Now: Phil Lentz Presents... Vol. II by Phil Lentz, a Former Political Reporter's Second Jazz Album
The New York Pianist’s Middle Album Sits Between a 2022 Debut and the New Bounce
Phil Lentz Presents… Vol. II is the second album from New York composer and jazz pianist Phil Lentz, released on 22 November 2024. It runs to 11 original songs in about 29 minutes, blending jazz with pop and folk. However, the reason to give it a first listen now is where it sits: between a 2022 debut and Bounce, the third album.
Phil Lentz’s Phil Lentz Presents… Vol. II is in the playlist below, and his artist profile collects the rest of his coverage. The album reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts. The programme verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news sites. Press play, then read on for where it sits in his catalogue.
Lentz came to music after a long career in words. First, he was a political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, the late Philadelphia Bulletin, the Newark Star-Ledger and Crain’s New York Business. Then he served as press secretary in Paul Tsongas’s 1992 presidential campaign, and later he ran speechwriting for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In addition, he has written two novels, The Corcoran Affair (2004) and Murder at City Hall (2013). Meanwhile, he played keyboards in jazz workshops around Manhattan, at The Bitter End, The Iridium, The Cutting Room and Silvana’s. Finally, the first album, Phil Lentz Presents…, followed in September 2022.
Originally from Bloomfield, New Jersey, Lentz now lives in New York City. Even the debut’s titles mixed the classical and the everyday, from Schumann’s Theme to Summer of ’21 and Tap Your Toes. It also set the format he has kept since: around 11 short originals and roughly half an hour of music per album.
Phil Lentz Presents… Vol. II Keeps the Same Core Band and Closes on a Coda
The band is the thread through all three records. For example, Dennis Harte plays guitar, arranges the songs with Lentz and produces. Likewise, Red Heller and bassist Wolfgang Lagomarsini have been there since the debut. However, there is one change at the back, the drum stool: Kevin Gaffney played on the first album, and Dave Young takes over here.
Lentz composed all 11 songs on Vol. II. Moreover, the titles show the range: The Circus, December Song, Honky-Tonk Blues, Chimes, Blues À La Carte and Prairie March sit side by side. In particular, One Little Drop of Justice sounds like it was named by someone who spent years covering politics.
The album closes on Coda. That also fits a pattern across the catalogue: the debut ended on Lullaby, and the new album ends on Late in the Game. In short, the three closing titles trace a career that came to music late and keeps adding chapters.
What Comes Next for Phil Lentz After Phil Lentz Presents… Vol. II Is Bounce and a Rockier Mix
Bounce is out now. Lentz’s own site says it arrived on CD in April 2026 with 10 original songs, and it reached Spotify on 16 October 2026. The description has widened too: Vol. II was billed as jazz, pop and folk, and Bounce adds rock to that list.
The core band carries on, with Harte producing again and Dave Mullen joining on saxophone. In addition, some threads come back from earlier records. Gospel, a song from the 2022 debut, returns in a new version, and the march form continues from Prairie March to the new A March.
Besides those threads, there are new pieces, among them The Forest, Seven Rivers, Water Under the Bridge, Forgiveness and Cotillion. The CD is sold through Swinney Media, and the songs are on the major streaming services.
Two pianists help place the music for new listeners. Vince Guaraldi turned a jazz composition into a radio hit with Cast Your Fate to the Wind, which won the 1963 Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. That record proved tuneful jazz piano can travel well beyond jazz rooms. Similarly, Bruce Hornsby has built a career on piano music drawn from folk, jazz, bluegrass and rock, with Grammys in pop, bluegrass and new-artist categories. In other words, that is close to the mix Lentz describes for Bounce.
Start with Vol. II from the top, then go straight to Bounce and listen for Gospel coming back.
From the MusicDrops.News Curator Team: “Three albums in four years from a composer who also lists photographer and fantasy baseball aficionado in his bio is a pace most full-time musicians would envy.”
Follow Phil Lentz across platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, YouTube channel, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and the official site.
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