It’s always been strange that jazz fusion never really caught fire in this music-loving town. Despite the One World Theatre hosting touring staples, Pat Metheny recently packing the Paramount Theatre, and members of local Seventies/Eighties act Passenger going on to play with Leonard Cohen, Joe Ely, and Eric Johnson, there’s been little traction. That’s a shame, since Austin boasts Progger, one of the best American fusion acts around.
Chronology verifies this. Kicking off with blazing energy and a big, fat hook on “Exposition,” bandleader/saxophonist/keyboardist Brian Donohoe and guitarist Matt Muehling debut a set of sophisticated new tunes, performed expertly by a floating ensemble of friends and collaborators. There’s a lot of virtuosity burning through these melodies, but each player’s commitment to making the ensemble succeed drives every track. “Lightrail” gets R&B groovy under some impressive jamming, while “Frith Variations” (co-written by Donohoe and fellow Adrian Quesada collaborator JaRon Marshall) swings between easy funk and staccato march. “Plague” explores balladry without sinking into a smooth jazz morass, as “Mister Brown and Mochi Jones” stalks the instruments like the cats for which it’s named. Passenger may not have made Austin a fusion paradise, but with Chronology, Progger just might.
This article appears in October 2 • 2026.
