His debut album, Time & Place, tenderly navigates a harsh landscape by vacillating between polar states. As the frustrated on-the-verge-of-an-epiphany chaos of “The Number Twelve” challenges you with madness, it soon departs, and you are comforted with solemn introspection in “Song For When It Rains.” Beyond everything else, these works speak deliberately, with a desire to be heard and understood. Even while wandering, Joel’s musical voice ventures towards the unknown in hopes of making a point not yet discovered. Pan M 360 labels the record “a very high-level contemporary jazz album… very refined and sophisticated thanks to his virtuoso and confident playing.”