Better You Don’t is Jim Black & The Schrimps’ second release. And what a release it is! Led by mastermind Jim Black, the quartet celebrates multi-layered jazz with haunting intensity, stylistic openness, rhythmic explosiveness, and intoxicating energy. In this formation, Jim Black brings together the Berlin saxophonists Asger Nissen Julius Gawlik and bassist Felix Henkelhausen, who are among the most original and articulate voices in European jazz innovation, with the same basic instrumentation as two of the greatest bands Black has propelled and helped shape from behind the kit – Tim Berne’s Bloodcount and the collective Endangered Blood. Jim Black is one of those important drummers, like Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Paul Motian, who not only shine as instrumentalists but also repeatedly form groups with primarily younger musicians in order to try out new material and achieve creative heights. Cast off and have fun!

Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder
Song credits: Jim Black
Photo: Lena Ganssmann

All compositions by Jim Black (Strufa Music, BMI). Recorded December 1st and 2nd, 2024, at Hansa Studios, Berlin, by Nanni Johansson. Mixed December 19, 2024, by Jim Black and Michael Brändli at Hardstudios, Winterthur. Mastered April 2, 2025, by Michael Brändli at Hardstudios, Winterthur. Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Song credits: Jim Black. Photos: Lena Ganssmann. Produced by Intakt Records, P.O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland.