An Evening with Isaiah J. Thompson and a Morning of Music at Andover
This past week, the Andover crew took a little trip up to Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, NH to catch Isaiah J. Thompson live. And wow… what a night.
The performance was music straight from Isaiah’s album A Guaraldi Holiday, a set of Vince Guaraldi classics reinterpreted with Isaiah’s warm, expressive touch. Jazz24 described the album as “12 fresh tracks, each one an exercise in nostalgic expressionism,” and that captures the vibe perfectly. Familiar melodies came through with a mix of lyricism, depth, and swing, and it was inspiring to see such a young group bring that level of musical chops and personality to Guaraldi’s catalog.
If Isaiah is new to you, he is already someone making waves in the jazz world and doing it with a lot of heart. Growing up in West Orange, NJ, he came up through programs like Jazz House Kids, NJPAC Jazz for Teens, and The Calderone School of Music before heading to Juilliard for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Since then, he has played with giants like Ron Carter, Christian McBride, and Cécile McLorin Salvant, made his recording debut with Wynton Marsalis on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Handful of Keys, contributed to the Motherless Brooklyn soundtrack, and was named a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist. And he now teaches at Juilliard. Despite all of that and his obvious virtuosity and command of jazz styles, Isaiah carries himself with a calm, humble presence that makes him incredibly easy to be around.
The next morning Isaiah visited Andover Audio HQ for a tour with Engineering Head Bob Hazelwood. This was his very first time hearing our Andover-One and SpinPlay record players in person. Fellow Mack Avenue artist Christian McBride had received an Andover-One previously and spoke positively about it on his Instagram, so it was fun to finally let Isaiah experience it for himself. He also got an early listen to a few unreleased products coming in 2026, giving us his honest first impressions.
After his visit, he summed up his reaction: “I was just impressed by the quality of the sound. I thought it was truly amazing.” Coming from someone with his musicianship and ears, that meant a lot to us.
Before he headed home, we sent him with a SpinPlay of his own. If anyone is going to put it through its paces, it is Isaiah.
A special shout-out to Mack Avenue Music Group, one of our record-label partners we truly appreciate working with. They support artists like Isaiah and they are dedicated to keeping jazz vibrant and evolving.
If you want to follow Isaiah’s journey, hear his music, or check out his upcoming performances, you can visit his site here: https://www.