World-Renowned Percussionist Randy Gloss Releases his Second Solo album, "...The Ayes Have It, Vol. II: Self-Portraits in Percussion" on Orenda Records

For decades, percussionist Randy Gloss has been recognized as one of the world’s leading hand percussion virtuosi, with an astounding breadth of knowledge and cultural understanding. An expert in musical traditions from across the globe, he brings a deep and expansive approach to rhythm and percussive sounds as he once again dives into personal exploration. As Gloss’s new solo album’s title suggests, “…The Ayes Have It” Vol. II: Self-Portraits in Percussion is, on one hand, a seamless continuation and companion to Vol. I (released on Orenda Records in 2015), while on the other, a stand-alone narrative, showcasing new directions, different facets, instruments, and ideas not explored on the first. On both, Randy Gloss explores an extensive palette of sonic possibilities through a deeply reflective and personal approach, with the world of percussion and rhythm as brush and canvas, utilizing the double LP vinyl record format as it’s frame.

A protégé of renowned percussion vanguard John Bergamo and longtime student of tabla maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Randy Gloss is a percussionist whose background performing several modalities of hand drums, contemporary percussion, and drum set has led to his involvement in many innovative ensembles that fuse world music with new music and jazz.  Most notable for his work with Hands On’Semble, a percussion group devoted to the art of hand drumming created by John Bergamo in 1997 (with Randy Gloss, Andrew Grueschow, and Austin Wrinkle) and multiple recipient of Drum! Magazine Reader’s Poll Award for Best Percussion Ensemble and Best Percussion Album, Gloss has performed and lectured throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia at many of the world’s premier percussion and world music festivals, music schools and conservatories. Randy has also worked with an extensive array of world renowned artists including: reggae superstar Ziggy Marley, violin icon L. Shankar, pianist Larry Karush, The Lian Ensemble; percussionist Adam Rudolph’s “Go: Organic Orchestra” and world percussion group Vashti; slide veena virtuoso Chitravina Ravikiran, Balkan/Indian maestros Aashish Khan, Swapan Chaudhuri, Miroslav Tadic, Vlatko Stefanovski; Romanian pan flute virtuoso Damian Draghici; overtone singer David Hykes; Turkish musician Latif Bolat; Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble; pianist Ardeshir Rohani; flautist Nicole Mitchell, pianist Dan Siegel, and South Indian percussionist Poovalur Sriji to name only some.  He has also contributed percussion for film soundtracks by composers Danny Elfman, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Gary Chang, and is on faculty at California Institute of the Arts, where he has taught since the late 90’s

On “…The Ayes Have It” Vol. II: Self-Portraits in Percussion Randy Gloss brings all his experience to bear in an incredible set of solo compositions featuring a dizzying array of percussive instruments, including aFrame (electrorganic frame drum); tabla; frame drums; metal restaurant pot; mason jar; water; double row mark tree; bamboo mark tree; vibraslap; gongs; tuned gongs; cymbals; bells; antique cymbal with jingles; dafs; dhavul/ tappan; handsonic; riq; drumset; pandeiro; cuica; congas; gankogui; dholak; vibraphone; cheng-cheng; reco-reco; bull roars; and wind wands. This gorgeous double LP, mixed by John Baffa and mastered by Stephen Marsh, is presented as a limited-edition double gatefold two LP vinyl album with accompanying booklet and digital download card, original artwork by Eron Rauch, and extensive liner notes by Randy Gloss.

Heavy Avant-Metal-Jazz Improvisers Dan Rosenboom, Jake Vossler & Tina Raymond Return for "Trio Subliminal 2: Cinema Infernale"

Heavy avant-garde improvisers Dan Rosenboom, Jake Vossler, and Tina Raymond evoke the spirit Butoh and the scale of Kaiju with enormous sound and fiery invention on their second album as Trio Subliminal. Recorded in 3 live, uncut takes at Rosenboom's BoomHill Studio, this album will shake your walls with unusual and exciting music!

These three singular musicians have shared a long history of collaboration, though this is only their second outing as a trio, and each brings a lifetime of experience in a variety of musical arenas. Rosenboom has spent nearly 20 years entrenched in the Los Angeles creative music scene as well as the classical and studio recording communities. Vossler is a devout death metal guitarist and vocalist who has delved deeply into the worlds of free sonic improvisation and Eastern European folk music. Raymond is a leading light in the Los Angeles jazz community with a highly distinctive, sought-after drum sound, and has a background in classical percussion, African drumming, and even played tympani with the rock band Evanescence. Trio Subliminal shares a belief in the power of improvised music to connect with our collective humanity and inspire the imagination. Rosenboom muses: "I’ve always been interested in metaphysical realities, mystical thought, and extra-sensory perception. Collective improvisation taps into these mind spaces in a way that almost nothing else does. The intuitive connection between band mates and the co-creation of something previously unknown is akin to pure conjuring or the formation of a new element." Trio Subliminal 2: Cinema Infernale embraces a slightly different approach than the band's self-titled debut. Building forms that unfold more gradually, and incorporating a quartertone trumpet, live electronic effects, three gradually-descending guitars and bigger drums, the band weaves cinematic soundscapes and narratives that play out like a monster movie! From subdued, foreboding and beautifully melancholic textures to wildly explosive climaxes, the band covers range rarely heard in modern music, and the result is something truly transportive. Creative improvisation also fills a significant role in Rosenboom's outlook on the state of the music industry: "In the modern world, music is so produced and perfected that pure improvisation stands as a form of open rebellion. It is at once flying in the face of everything current, yet somehow feels most directly analogous to the way we live our lives, constantly navigating, changing plans and expectations based on the input and ideas of our peers, finding common ground, and building structure together. In this way, improvising provides an opportunity for the most profound human connection both with fellow musicians and audience members, as all experience the unfolding of a performance with equal mystery and surprise." A sonic theater-of-the-mind, Trio Subliminal 2: Cinema Infernale offers the daring listener a chance to transcend the mundane, even if only for a moment. Through spontaneity and imagination Dan Rosenboom, Jake Vossler, and Tina Raymond bring us something unusual, something hair-raising, and something beautiful.

Flutist, Composer, and Sound-Artist Rachel Beetz releases improvisational debut "Unofficial"

Composer, sound artist, and flutist Rachel Beetz presents Unofficial, her first full-length album of improvisations exploring the electroacoustic flute with texture and noise.

“The sound of the acoustic flute was never satisfying enough for me. I would always push to the extremes of acceptability in both contemporary and bel canto playing. My performances are intensified by living on the edge - overblown louds and softs that you could barely hear. I was always wanting more out of my instrument and have had trouble ‘playing nice.’ This album is me exploring my instrumental voice by transforming it into synthesizers and layering those with noise and effects.”

To create Unofficial, Rachel improvised with custom synthesizers made from samples of her acoustic flute playing (Tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) and also on the acoustic flute with effects pedals (Tracks 2 and 3).  All of the tracks capture in-the-moment creations with some production in post. Other than the desire to transform the flute into the entire range of musical frequencies, there were no rules or systems employed in creating these tracks. Performed in the privacy of her home studio, these improvisations are an attempt at revealing the inner subconscious. 

As a composer and sound artist, Beetz’s works recreate physical atmospheres based on her deep listening adventures in the wild, exploring hidden worlds of nature and machines. Combining experimental field recordings and electronically modified flutes, her works examine community, environmentalism, and women’s work through sound, video, textiles, and lighting. Her projects have been featured in concert halls and galleries in Australia, Iceland, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As a flutist, she is dedicated to performing works by living composers, as well as pushing the boundaries of the instruments traditional roles and techniques.

“There has always been some cognitive dissonance for me in my identity as a musician who plays the flute, a somewhat gentle instrument. I’ve trained for decades to be able to play with that beautiful, resonant singing tone and can do it, but it is a challenge for me. I’ve come to enjoy adding some dirt and grit into my sound and have been exploring that in contemporary music for years. The first time I truly heard myself in my sound was in the creation of my tracks on Script – Rescript. Those were a reaction to drawings made by artist Nichole Speciale. I made them with strict rules, measuring every line and defining every color. Unofficial takes the opposite approach, leaving the door completely open to a moment in time. I am surprised that the outcome feels even more like my sound. It is very freeing as an artist to hear something you’ve been trying to make for decades come true and invigorating to find it through a completely different working approach.” 

“This release needed a special place where it felt safe to be open and vulnerable. I am proud to have Unofficial on Orenda Records, a label that accepts and encourages sound makers of all kinds. To me, Unofficial is science fiction, representing a utopia where we are self-aware enough to know when to express our feelings and when to protect them. It is where we are free to be officially unofficial.” 

Harpist Jacqueline Kerrod delves boldly into new territory on her debut solo release: "17 Days in December"

Harpist Jacqueline Kerrod delves boldly into new territory on her debut solo release. 17 Days in December features an expansive set of solo harp improvisations culled from daily explorations Kerrod’s diverse credits include work with Anthony Braxton, serving as principal harpist with NY City Opera, and performances with Anohni, Rufus Wainwright and Kanye West.

"Kerrod is a fearless improviser and experimentalist, using extended techniques in a fashion that would sound like mistakes in less sure hands." – Mike Eisenberg, Avant Music News

“[The] exceptionally virtuosic and sensitive harpist Jacqueline Kerrod… drew many different tonal colors from her instrument. ” – Timothy Hutto, Classical Source

“I sometimes think I should have picked a different instrument,” jokes South African-born harpist Jacqueline Kerrod.

Classically trained from the age of 9, Kerrod has had a vibrant and varied career as a freelancer in New York City. She has played principal harp with top orchestras and performed with elite chamber groups, contemporary music ensembles, and pop superstars like Anohni, Rufus Wainwright and Kanye West. But although she consistently worked at a very high level, these opportunities failed to provide an outlet for her own creative voice.

“Although I had dabbled in improvisation and writing my own music, it took a back seat as I continued my studies in the US and began my professional career in NYC. Even so, that little voice in my head was there, reminding me of the music I was really drawn to and my desire to make it myself.”

Kerrod’s journey of personal sonic discovery has now yielded her debut solo album, 17 Days in December, due out December 3, 2021 via Los Angeles-based Orenda Records. The album results from a month-long series of daily improvisations on acoustic and electric harp that Kerrod undertook in the basement of her home in Princeton at the height of the Covid-19 quarantine. But its origins date back long before the pandemic, to a six-year journey in a pop duo and the inspiration of working with master composer/improviser Anthony Braxton.

Kerrod was initially enlisted to play with the ensemble for Braxton’s opera “Trillium J.” That led to an invitation to join the saxophone innovator on the latest iteration of his musical system, ZIM Music – the results of which can be heard on his new 11-hour recording 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017. She later joined Braxton in duo performances in Europe and the US. Their performance from Bologna was released on the Italian label I dischi di Angelica in 2020. These opportunities became a plunge into the deep end of the improvised music realm for the harpist.

“I found it exciting and terrifying to be inside of those performances,” Kerrod recalls. “As a classical musician the process is so much about learning things perfectly and meticulously preparing so that you lessen the odds of messing up. I rarely felt free from needing to control the outcome. Playing with Braxton was such a shift because you have to be in the moment. That feeling of being able to move through unfamiliar territory and discover new things is such an adventure. I truly rediscovered my joy for music and my instrument.”

Prior to crossing paths with Braxton, Kerrod was immersed in the realm of new music with the likes of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the Argento Chamber Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, Wet Ink, Alarm Will Sound and Metropolis Chamber Ensemble; and she championed South African composers with more than a dozen works written for her. She also branched away from the classical world as half of the pop duo Addi & Jacq (with vocalist Addi McDaniel), where she developed her skills on the electric harp using guitar pedals and a looper, and with songwriting.

“Having all of these experiences with different genres and approaches opened up a whole new world of music to me,” Kerrod says. “Through them I started my listening journey into the world of free improvised music, free jazz, country blues, you name it! I realized that there are no boxes that one needs to climb into. You can and should always be yourself.”

Kerrod set up a basic studio at home to continue her evolution, but the lockdown accelerated the process and led to the experiments that comprise 17 Days in December. The harpist set out each day with no fixed agenda or any intention of releasing the results formally. She simply set a timer for 40 minutes, started recording, and let her ideas flow. There is no overdubbing or looping on the album, and no preparations on the harp. She used a screwdriver-like harp tool on one track (“December 5: Screwed”) a small glass bowl on another (“December 28: Glassy Fingers”) and a viola bow (December 29: Rust On Bow) and used delay, whammy and distortion/overdrive pedals on her electric harp. Two acoustic tracks (December 7: Gentle Jangle and December 2: Fluttering Alberti) use software effects in Ableton. Otherwise, the improvisations make use of the natural sounds possible with the unaltered harp.

The shimmering opening track, “December 1: Trill to Begin,” draws directly from one of Braxton’s twelve Language Musics. The trill was Kerrod’s solution to Braxton’s Long Sounds language, sustaining a drone despite the harp’s natural tendency for sonic decay. The warped menace of “December 21: Chatterbox” introduces the unusual sounds of her electric harp. Each day’s improv wrings rich discoveries from a different notion, from abstract memory of jazz on “December 9: An Impression” to agitated frenzy on “December 8: Sugar Up” to repurposed classical technique on “December 2: Fluttering Alberti.”

“In retrospect, these seventeen improvisations feel like a personal celebration,” Kerrod concludes. “At the time I felt like the top blew off and the music came tumbling out. I felt an incredible amount of joy, truth, warmth, clarity, and reverence for all the sounds – including those I was taught not to make! I want to continue reveling in that feeling, alone and with others, in whatever forms that may take.”

Drummer/Composer Atticus Reynolds presents a rich collection of original music featuring LA’s emerging jazz vanguard on "Towers"

Towers, the 2nd full-length record from drummer/composer Atticus Reynolds, presents a rich collection of original music written after relocating to Los Angeles in 2017 and joining LA’s new vanguard of emerging jazz improvisers. A collection of disparate musical ideas written since his move, the album was recorded over a two-day period in September 2019 and features some of Reynolds’ close friends and common musical collaborators in Los Angeles, including Devin Daniels on alto saxophone, Aidan Lombard on trumpet, Jon Hatamiya on trombone, Max Beck on bass, and Jordan Reifkind on guitar.

Towers is in some ways a love letter to the time Reynolds has spent in California, but also serves as a powerful introduction for his distinct musical voice within the Los Angeles scene. Dense yet palatable, his compositions prioritize the essence of structure and timbre, while giving his colleagues a platform to stretch and express themselves.

“The concept for the record was in many ways to give agency to these musicians that I had so much respect for and to write adaptable music. I wanted to have some degree of control over where the compositions went yet write just the necessary information on the page to let the compositions move to very different places. In this nature, these short often one page (molds) could be played just as easily with a trio or an octet.”

–Atticus Reynolds

Towers begins with a fierce and driving unison horn line in “Control” that calls upon Reynolds’ musical identity’s indebtedness to Afro-Cuban music in a modern context. With the drums melodically floating over the driving force of the band, the piece deals with ideas of anxiety as both a crippling and empowering force. Some of the tracks such as “Sleep,” a two-sided meditation on sleep deprivation, and “West (of you),” a piece dealing with distance away from someone you love, are more personal in concept. Other pieces like “F.emeral (the chopper & the goldhand),” a composition built to create a space for musical sparring, were written almost as improvisational exercises. Another more abstract exercise was “Trapeze Artists,” a pyramid-like composition that deals with momentum, elevation, and vertigo by utilizing Jordan Reifkind’s angular and cutting improvisational voice on guitar. The closing track, “Hymn (thoughts & prayers),” was written after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. The hymn-like repeated structure that each time becomes slightly re-­harmonized symbolizes the differing spaces of understanding (or lack thereof) and grief. The individual voices presented on Towers are remarkable, indeed, but what really shines through here is the cohesion of Reynolds’ concept and compositions. With a maturity well beyond their collective years, the band presents a compelling new vision for the future of the Los Angeles jazz scene. Orenda Records is proud to release Towers and give artists like Atticus Reynolds a platform to present visionary creative music.

Trio of Veteran Improvisers, PraXmitH, releases "Comfort in Danger" featuring guitarist Stan Smith, bassist/producer Steve Perakis, and drummer Breeze Smith

PRAXMITH is a coeval of three musicians offering a praxis of improvisation.

Although the trio have performed and recorded together in various configurations of ensembles, crossing several genres of musical styles over many years, they have performed together only once as a trio, in January of 2020. This was the catalyst that began the excited recipe for the descent into Steve's studio to begin the process of creating the 5 journeys on this, their first release in the current trio configuration.

As a guitarist Stan Smith was a member of the Moacir Santos band in Los Angeles, and as a band leader in Columbus and regionally, has accompanied artists such as David Amram, David Ornette Cherry, Ali Ryerson and Mark Vinci. As a composer he has received Fellowship Awards from the Ohio Arts Council and the Greater Columbus Arts Council. His compositions have been performed internationally and recorded by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Michael Cox, The Keith Henson Octet, The Afro Rican Ensemble, Nova Madrugada and Spectrum. His book Jazz Harmony on the Guitar; A Linear/Structural Approach is published by Hal Leonard. He is an associate professor of music in the Conservatory of Music at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio where he has been the head of the jazz/contemporary guitar curriculum since 1978.

Breeze Smith played and toured in bands at an early age, in Ohio and Indiana, recording first in 1966. His growing interest in experimental and improvised music and his ever-expanding and percussive repertoire led him to incorporate playable metal sound sculptures into his drum / percussion universe.  His solo performances led to commissions for sound sculptures, including a commision by Stephen Wright. Some of his solo recordings being used in a documentary film.He has lived, performed and recorded in Ohio, California, Denmark and beyond, with artists such as David Ornette Cherry, Justo Amario, Ralph Buzzy Jones, Don Littleton, Roberto Miranda, Neneh Cherry, Rod Poole, Hannibal Lakumba, Dianne MacIntyre, Roger Hines, Dwight Trible, Trevor Ware, John Beasley, Billy Childs, Charles Owen, Maggie Brown, Eric Barber, Tony Green, Eddie Ray & Co, Willie Pooch Blues Band, duos with his wife, dancer / vocalist Cheryl Banks-Smith and more. 

Steve Perakis plays mostly basses, but his interest in many sounds and musics brought him to guitar, drums and keyboards, composing, arranging, being a bandleader and recording engineer. Performing and recording Avant Garde, Blues, Country, Experimental, Funk, Jazz, Latin, Polka, Pop, Rock, Soul, Surf and just about anything in between, including composing for Modern Dance. He has performed with Tito Puente Jr, The Benny Goodman Orchestra featuring Henry Cuesta, Louis Bellson, The Guy Lombardo Band, Eddie Clearwater, Johnny Vidacovich, former Sun Ra Arkestra member Cheryl Banks-Smith, Jerome Dillon - pre N.I.N., George Bedard, Mark Braun, Todd Hepburn, Carl Sonny Leyland, Liz Pennock and Dr Blues, Richard Lopez, The Sean Carney Band and a few hundred others. He has performed in the Midwest, Eastern and Southern US, as well as Europe, Thailand and Columbia.

New York City-based EFG Trio releases "Transliminal Rites" featuring Eyal Maoz, Frank London, and Guy Barash

EFG trio is the fusion of three distinct, forward thinking musical personalities.

Eyal Maoz is a composer, guitarist and bandleader. Maoz’s music oscillates between extremely delicate and highly volatile. His work evokes extravaganza of cutting edge experimental and chamber grace. “Maoz redefines what ethnocentric world fusion can be from a mean-streets New York City perspective.” (All Music Guide)

Grammy-award winning trumpeter Frank London is “the mystical high priest of New Wave Avant-Klez jazz.” (All About Jazz) He has worked with John Zorn, Karen O, Itzhak Perlman, Pink Floyd, LL Cool J, Mel Tormé, Lester Bowie, LaMonte Young, They Might Be Giants, David Byrne, Jane Siberry, Ben Folds 5; is on over 500 CDs and was featured on Sex And The City.

Composer/sound-artist Guy Barash abandons the confines of genre, inventing a sound world that is uniquely his own. His series of compositions for solo instruments and real-time digital signal processing, Talkback, was hailed as being “at once divine, serene and haunting.” (The Queens Chronicle) His music appeared on labels such as Delos Music, Innova Recordings, and Starkland.

The 2016 recordings behind Transliminal Rites mysteriously resurfaced during the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. With a strong belief they are now more relevant than ever, the trio decided to edit the recordings and produce the album. In Transliminal Rites EFG trio navigates the bewildering landscape that exists in the intersection of improv, contemporary classical music, and jazz. The music deconstructs sound while simultaneously challenging the hegemony of genre in Western European musical tradition. Appropriately, all track titles come from the world of linguisto-poetics and critical theory, reflecting ideas from Korzybski to Karasick, Debord to Cisoux. They are poetic and playful while probing the problematic. They reflect the non-intentional intention of improvisation.

Composer and Trombonist Nick DePinna's "Nexus Remixes, Vol. 1" reimagines his original music through the eyes of 13 brilliant remixers

Following the release of his debut big band EP, Nexus Music, Vol. 1, Los Angeles composer/trombonist Nick DePinna presents Nexus Remixes, Vol. 1, a collection of bold recompositions crafted by visionary artists from varying musical disciplines on the genre-defying label, Orenda Records.

DePinna’s original EP was released to critical acclaim in 2019 and consists of compositions written over the past ten years amidst extensive work in film and television music, collaborations and mentorships with luminaries James Newton, Kenny Burrell, David Norland, Kathryn Bostic, and Lalo Schifrin, and touring as a member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

“The remixers on this album are among my favorite musicians in the world. Their music is profoundly meaningful to me, and engaging with them on this project has been deeply humbling and rewarding. Their works remind me that diversity in ideas and perspectives is the foundation of literally all the music that I care about.” –Nick DePinna

Remixers and Featured Artists and their credits (recorded and/or performed with):

Beles (Moses Sumney, Rhye, Alice Russell) Darek Cobbs (Charlie Puth, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Doja Cat) Brady Cohan (Natalie Cole, Stanley Clarke, American Idol) Ross Garren (Ben Folds, Bon Iver, Keb Mo, Pomplamoose, Marco Beltrami) Giocello (Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, James Brown, Mary J Blige, Stevie Wonder) Hitomi Oba (LA Phil, Jon Jang, John Daversa Small Band) HOCKET (wildUp, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Piano Spheres, LA Phil) Jungle Fire (Stevie Wonder, Ozomatli, Alice Russell, U2) Dan Kaneyuki (Engelbert Humperdinck, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer Orchestra) LEJKEYS (Jhene Aiko, Anderson .Paak, Disney Pixar) Noah Meites (L.A. Signal Lab, Brightwork New Music, Arkora Ensemble, Aperture Duo) David Norland (Solar Twins, film and television) Erika Oba (Rice Kings, Sparkler, Sleight Ensemble) OMNEI.FM (Dank Radio, PharcydeTV) Alex Pfender (King Washington, Phox) Point Lobo (Breakestra, The Pharcyde) Dan Rosenboom (Burning Ghosts, LA Phil, John Williams, Vinny Golia) Christian Tamburr (Clint Holmes, Julio Iglesias, Penn & Teller, Cirque Du Soleil) John Whitt Jr. (Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Rita Ora)

"Refraction" is an incisive and expansive trio debut by trumpeter Dan Rosenboom, bassist Billy Mohler & drummer Anthony Fung

After a year of separation, trumpeter Dan Rosenboom, bassist Billy Mohler, and drummer Anthony Fung reunite to form a new trio dedicated to freedom and exploration, as well as reflection and healing through spontaneous composition. Refraction is an exciting and wide-ranging sonic excursion into intuitive music-making by three of the Los Angeles jazz scene's most compelling voices. Recorded in Febraury and March of 2021, this album documents their reunion and presents a program dedicated to freedom and exploration, as well as reflection and healing after a fraught year of hardship for so many around the globe. When Fung reached out to Rosenboom to organize an informal duo jam session, the drummer and trumpeter got together at Rosenboom’s home studio in Long Beach, CA, and dove seamlessly into the fiery and beautiful improvisational connection they developed working on Rosenboom’s previous release, Points on an Infinite Line. After posting a short clip of the session on Instagram, in true pandemic fashion, bassist Billy Mohler reached out and offered to add bass parts to the recordings. In mere hours, he fleshed out the performances and added his signature driving, hypnotic bass flavor and the result sounds as cohesive as if the three were all together in the same room. In a fortuitous twist of fate, the opportunity to play together arose with in a matter of weeks. Rosenboom was invited by the International Trumpet Guild to film a performance for their 2021 Virtual Conference, and the trio jumped at the opportunity to record and film together. In the first full recording session they had done as a band since the pandemic lock-down, the three spontaneously composed the titular suite, “Refraction,” in 4 successive takes, as well as the heart-wrenching ballad “Delusion and Consequence.” Rosenboom is a producer and composer given to poetics, and the titles chosen invite the listener to reflect on both our current moment as a collective society, as well as some of the deep questions we have all pondered over the last 15 months, especially. Some are decidedly overt, like “Dismantle Systems of Oppression,” while others invite personal reflection, as in “Where the Waves Conspire,” and “Swallow the Sun.” All the tracks are presented in the order they were recorded, and display a shared vision and knack for spontaneous composition that is cohesive and compelling. With Refraction, Dan Rosenboom, Billy Mohler, and Anthony Fung make an auspicious debut, as our societies reopen and the hunger to communicate spontaneously is palpable and profound in the musical community. The pandemic provided many opportunities for remote collaboration, but nothing feels so immediate as improvising with like-minded peers in the same place at the same time. While the music is certainly reflective, dynamic, and exploratory, it is equally cathartic and represents a bright horizon of new ideas and opportunity.

"Ceremony" is cosmic conjuring of other-worldy forces by guitarist, bassist, vocalist Jake Vossler and quartertone trumpeter Dan Rosenboom

After a frought year of isolation, long-time collaborators Jake Vossler and Dan Rosenboom reunited to record an entrancing duo album rooted in a fascination with ritual magic. Vossler’s staggering array extended guitar techniques and sonic manipulations, as well as vocal and electronic soundscapes, intertwine with Rosenboom’s mind-bending quartertone trumpet and electronic musings to create a raw, sensational, and utterly transportive meditation recorded entirely live with just 2 microphones, no editing, and only minimal minimal mixing. The resulting album, Ceremony, is an astounding exploration of sound and energy.

"With Ceremony I wanted to achieve an occult vibe, a sort of ritual setting in which other worldly forces/entities are invoked. I have been fascinated by occult literature since I was a teenager. I love the bizarre symbols and sigils, and admire the meticulous detail involved in the rituals. To me they represent the limitless bounds of the imagination. Having worked with Dan for years now in many different projects, genres and settings I thought it would be cool to do a duo record with the ritual theme in mind-something different for us. Music, after all, is a harnessing and directing of energy, in accordance with the will. This is exactly the purpose of ritual magic. It makes me wonder, is making music ritual magic? It is if we want it to be, and I find that beautifully inspiring.

"Playing music with others, particularly improvised music can stir up a multitude of feelings in the players involved in the moment. Ive experienced profound sensations of love, humor, empathy, strength and ecstasy in the throes of a performance. With Ceremony I felt as if the combined energies of Dan and I summoned another, a third presence. This is one manifestation of improvisation at its best. The music itself becomes an invoked apparition.

"The record is also perhaps the most stripped down and raw project I have done. All the tracks are live with no edits or overdubs. There are two vocal loop/trumpet tunes which serve as a sort of gateway into and out of the ritual. The spectrum of sounds in varied and unique, I used a standard tuned guitar, bass guitar, 8 string guitar and baritone guitar for the different tracks in duo with Dan’s brilliantly evocative quarter-tone trumpet. I really think the listener with feel that they are in the room with us, witnessing the forces we have invoked."

–Jake Vossler

Released in tandem with an incredible photographic collection by photographer Eron Rauch, Orenda Records is proud to present Ceremony. The artists recommend listening to this loud, and as a continuous full-album experience. And if possible, in the dark.

Guitarist Zane Carney's "Alter Ego" ranges from blockbuster energy to intimate expression, and features LA heavyweights Katisse Buckingham, Jerry Watts Jr., and Gene Coye

Guitarist Zane Carney’s new quartet album Alter Ego, featuring Katisse Buckingham (woodwinds), Jerry Watts Jr. (bass), and Gene Coye (drums), embodies an adventurous new wave of free improvisation, along with modal jazz in its most electric, high-octane form. The album features a series of improvised compositions, experiments, and sketches, as well as two rearranged standards. It consists mostly of first takes, with no editing, and aims to subvert convention. In addition, all tracks were mixed from the drummer’s perspective, placing the listener in the middle of the live action, on stage with the group.

“I wanted this record to feel alive,” said Zane Carney. “This is the first time my actual improvisational spirit is being expressed in recorded format. I wanted to capture the sparks that fly when Jerry, Gene, Katisse and I improvise together, and document the untamed, almost manic spirit that LA’s late night jazz scene has produced: there is a certain energy and freedom that transcends genre. West Coast jazz is genre-less, it’s reckless, it’s audacious, and it pushes boundaries. In order to summon that ferocity, we approached this session as one might approach an un-moderated debate: no judgement or rules, freely exploring new lands harmonically, whenever a member felt like leading the charge. I wanted us to be as nimble and agile as possible, so we could access that core flow state more readily. Every one of us served as a conversation-leader at different points on the record, and I think you hear that especially on songs like ‘Alter’ and ‘Lost.’” 

Listeners will find a compelling melding of modern jazz performance, balanced by a fully analog, straight-to-tape vintage recording process. Carney is playing a custom, modified Fender, which he built using a Broadcaster neck and a Telecaster bridge pick-up, to create his signature sound. He also used old-world and new-world guitar pedals and played them through a custom Siegmund Sound King, powered by a 1940s pair of 300B television tubes. “The goal was to contrast our current jazz vocabulary with old technology, and see what happens when modern jazz is played with rare, modified instruments and recorded in a fully analog process” Carney added. 

The album opens with “Brain Freeze,” drawing listeners in with a meditative, haunting melody before bursting into an explosion of textures, patterns and colors, then promptly clearing the canvas for a flute/guitar battle. This sets the stage for a stream of multilayered experiments, provocative inquiries, and jarring juxtapositions, from “Alter” to “Lost,” “Found,” and finally, “Ego.” The two standards on the record showcase distinct choices: “Oleo” revisits the classic melody with an absurdist chromatic twist, while “Minority” is turned on its head as a new-wave samba.Throughout the record, listeners may recognize guitar tones that Carney developed over the years with his various solo and group projects and collaborations, now applied in an improvisational jazz setting. As the record unfolds, tape crackling and hissing, it leads to “Things You Aren’t,” a vulnerable, intimate solo guitar piece, continuing the conversation between past and future.

At its core, Alter Ego revels in tensions and the new possibilities they open up. It calls for a full immersion in the present moment and seeks to expose a side of West Coast jazz that has been mostly unchronicled. The Zane Carney Quartet prompts listeners to probe and question jazz norms while investigating what creates those perceptions, as the album shape-shifts from track to track. Fittingly, it mirrors the bandleader’s mission: throughout his career, Carney has made a point to defy genre expectations and refuse all stylistic affiliations, his playing standing out on its own.

Acclaimed Los Angeles Guitarist Matthew Yeakley teams up with Bassist Richard Giddens and Drummer Mark Ferber for Debut Trio Release, "Fragile Lucidity"

Fragile Lucidity is the debut trio record for guitarist Matthew Yeakley, bassist Richard Giddens, and drummer Mark Ferber. It was conceived, written, and recorded all in the span of one month in December of 2018. In November of 2018, they had no idea that they would be writing for a new project then recording it less than a month later, but all the pieces seemed to fall in place one after the next to give this trio a chance to create this record.

The three had always talked about a trio project, but with Mark in New York, Richard in Fresno, Matthew in Los Angeles, and all of them with busy schedules of gigs, teaching, recording and touring, the possibilities of bringing this dream to fruition seemed scarce. Then, one day in early December 2018, Matthew heard from Mark that he would be in Los Angeles over the holidays and it got his gears turning. Matthew reached out to a local recording studio (Fire Flower Studios) that he had done work with before to see if there was any kind of availability in that window, and sure enough, there was. His next call was to Richard to see if he could be in Los Angeles for the studio days, and sure enough, he could. Now all the trio needed was material to play and record.

The band reinterpreted the jazz classic “Moonglow” as a fast modern 7/4 feel, and the Stephen Foster original “Hard Times Come Again No More” as a re-harmonized walking ballad with an added solo section. The group wrote original compositions ranging from the moody ballad, “Fragile Lucidity,” to the free improvisation built around a 12-tone row, “Monumental Insignificance.” The recording day came, and the magic was apparent from the first note. The band worked all through the day and what emerged was an album of which all three were excited and proud.

The magic that had surrounded the conception, writing, and recording of Fragile Lucidity was immediately brought into balance with the journey it would take to finish the record. The files were put onto a hard drive that went missing for almost two years. Eventually, the hard drive resurfaced during a move, and the race was on to release the record that the band was so excited to share.

Fragile Lucidity is an album whose whole conceit is based in seizing the moment at hand and capturing a moment between these three musicians. It harkens to the jazz tradition of lyricism and interactive musicianship. This record is a photograph of three musicians who blend effortlessly. It is a jumping off point for a trio who are only just beginning their recording history as a group. It is the album that came together by incredible good fortune, was lost, and then rediscovered.

Legendary Woodwind Artist Lenny Pickett and Innovative Percussionist John Hadfield Release "Heard By Others," a Beautiful Duo EP Co-Created During Pandemic

Across the globe, the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying lockdowns have challenged musicians to create new opportunities for collaboration and find inventive ways to approach their creative process. Renowned creators Lenny Pickett and John Hadfield seized the moment to produce a beautiful new EP, Heard By Others, which highlights their long association and explores how the listening experience, for musicians and audience alike, is shaped by isolation and the desire for interpersonal connection.

Famed multi-woodwind autodidact Lenny Pickett and innovative percussionist/drummer John Hadfield have been making music together for the last 15 years in a variety of contexts. In 2016, they debuted their duo at the storied Cornelia Street Café in Greenwich Village NY, where Hadfield curated an annual percussion festival. The unusual marriage of their two musical voices and instruments allowed them to develop complex melodic grooves to the delight of their audience. Since then, they have continued to collaborate and performed together, but hadn’t found an opportunity to record their duo compositions until the Covid-19 pandemic hit in the spring of 2020. 

Heard By Others is the result of “music in quarantine,” when musicians accustomed to playing in the room together suddenly found themselves isolated by stay-at-home orders. Hadfield and Pickett found themselves quarantined over 5,000 thousand miles apart, Lenny in California and John in rural France, and decided to explore the theme of what it like to be and heard during this time of intense political, economic, and health crisis. 

For the first time in their respective composing and performing careers, Pickett and Hadfield were unable to play music with or be heard by others. Paradoxically, with no performances or recording sessions in sight, they simultaneously had more time than ever to compose, play, record, and listen to music and each other. Heard By Others was born out of the questions: “What is it like to be heard by others when so many around the world are isolated and in vital need of connection and recognition? How do we listen and empathize with others at a time of intense global suffering, when many of us are deeply preoccupied by our own health and economic survival? Does social distance make us better or worse listeners?” Using electronic technology while making primarily acoustic music, Hadfield and Pickett musically explore what it’s like to put aside one’s viewpoint, and to value, listen, and recognize others’ views, even when most conversation, verbal or musical, happens remotely. 

Each musician contributed two compositions. Lenny Picket explores his compositions with saxophone and clarinets while John Hadfield uses a hybrid drum set. The percussion instrumentation varies from song to song, but includes frame drums, Uchiwa, found metal sounds, seed pods, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, pots and pans, and a metallic bottle rack identical to the one French artist and provocateur Marcel Duchamps made famous over a century ago by turning it into a sculpture under the title Bottle Rack in 1914. Duchamps raised philosophical questions that still animate the art world: how do we understand an object to be art rather than just a “thing”? What gives meaning art works? What is the role of artists in the transformation of things into art? Similarly, Hadfield and Pickett wonder what it’s like for sounds to become music. What is the respective role of the musicians and the listeners in that transformation and co-production? How does that process compare to verbal and bodily communication whereby humans listen or fail to listen to one another?

John Hadfield’s “Fractured Water” addresses the globally unfolding ecological catastrophe, particularly apparent in peoples’ increasingly difficult and unequal access to clean water. As a US citizen temporarily relocated in France during the pandemic, he reflected on the two countries’ divergent approach to hydraulic fracturing. The practice has been banned in France while it continues unabated in the United States, despite its devastating environmental impact in particular water pollution. “Fractured Water” muses on what can go awry when experts are unheard and people’s essential and immediate needs are sacrificed for global profits. “Nogent-le-Rotrou” is named after the small French town where Hadfield was quarantined. This composition illustrates how the Covid-19 crisis exposes the inextricable connection between the local and the global—the pandemic itself is a global phenomenon, yet the principal response has been highly local, often focused on severing transnational bonds by closing borders, shutting down towns and regions, and blaming outsiders and other nations. Hadfield was inspired by the rich history of the town, a crossroads during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, briefly conquered by the English in 1359 during the Hundred Years’ War, before turning into its current sleepy and isolated self. 

Orenda Records is proud to release Heard By Others during this time of global upheaval. If anything, both the Covid-19 pandemic and musicians’ responses have illustrated the interconnectedness of our entire planet and its people. Lenny Pickett and John Hadfield are artists who embody both the contemplative and the proactive in their work, and this beautiful EP is a joyful listen, enriched by understanding of its underlying considerations. By advocating connection through music, Pickett and Hadfield lead the way toward a future of collaboration and recognition for humanity.

Celebrated Saxophonist/Composer Jon Armstrong Releases "Reabsorb," A Powerful Celebration of Mortality

Reabsorb is a dramatic new work for sextet from critically acclaimed saxophonist/composer, Jon Armstrong. In Armstrong’s own words, the music is “a meditation on our own mortality, a journey from raging against the inevitable, to acceptance, to transcendence, and the reabsorption of our spirit back into the universal consciousness of all life.” Conceived as two continuous sides of vinyl, full of inventive playing by a stellar sextet, the two compositions were inspired by two single-stanza poems by Erin Armstrong, whose prose articulates humanity’s struggle with the awesome and unfathomable fact that we all must die:

Hit it as loudly as possible best case scenario:  They'll mention the quiet when I'm gone Released Light moves Inside a green leaf Now I'm absorbed by green bouncing the loop of light

Armstrong designs a unique experience for listeners utilizing the medium of the vinyl record. Each composition spans up an entire side, and entrances the listener with waves of sonic energy, and the band’s wide scope of sounds and emotions deliver an expansive and meditative journey. Rather than a somber or morbid mood, the record is a celebration of mortality.

“There is a freedom in accepting that our lives are fragile, beauty in embracing our impermanence, and a state of grace that can only be obtained by separating our spirit from our ego. As a musician and composer, I know what it is to make fleeting art, to craft musical experiences that end, that die. So too must we end, having made the most beauty we could, having shared in love and fellowship with others, and then our melody must have a cadence that is as artful as we can make it.” –Jon Armstrong

This sentiment is made manifest by a stellar cast of vanguard musicians from the Los Angeles scene. Joining Armstrong are Tina Raymond on drum set, Ben Shepherd on electric bass, Joshua White on piano, Dan Rosenboom on trumpet, and Ryan Dragon on trombone. These musicians pour their hearts on with their spirited, emotional, and powerful performances that propel the album into a place of ecstasy.

Armstrong has been celebrated for his past two albums on Orenda Records, Farewell (2014) and Burnt Hibiscus (2016), and enjoyed a wonderful career in Los Angeles before moving to Idaho in 2015 to become the Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho State University. In 2019 he was awarded an Idaho Commission on the Arts Performing Arts Fellowship. Armstrong’s music is always characterized by a heartfelt joy and Reabsorb adds to his musical legacy with power, imagination, and transformative energy.

Trumpeter, Composer, Producer Dan Rosenboom Releases Points on an Infinite Line on Orenda Records

For trumpeter, composer, producer Dan Rosenboom, being an artist is about seeking connection and shared consciousness while reflecting the times in which we live. From his own musical pursuits to his ever-expanding Orenda Records label, Rosenboom seeks to highlight the interconnectedness of human culture, thought, and spirit in both grounded and imaginative ways. His latest Orenda release, Points on an Infinite Line, presents a suite of seven sketches and an absurdist epilogue performed by a quartet of friends, and asserts that composition, performance, improvisation, and artistic interaction are part of a larger cultural and philosophical continuum, stretching infinitely forward and backward through time.

“Especially during this time of isolation and social upheaval, the need for connection, recognition of our shared humanity, reflection on our cultural history, and cultivation of an equitable future resonate as our civilization’s most pressing imperatives. Music and art can inspire people toward these connections, and by offering the dedicated listener uplifting energy, can be a bonding, motivating, and healing force amid turmoil.” –Dan Rosenboom 

Rosenboom’s music seeks a nexus between the intellectual and spiritual, yet remains humble and relatable. Even at his most abstract, the music is tangibly human and often looks beyond the limits of a single imagination. The space he leaves for extensive collective improvisation and conceptual stretching allows his band mates to co-create and co-own the music, and the audience is invited to join in the imaginative exploration as well. This precious and sacred relationship between performers and listeners has been emphasized by its absence during the COVID-19 quarantine, but the remarkable social uprisings of 2020 and broad demands for racial justice and reconciliation offer a beacon of hope that recognition of our shared humanity and the desire to connect are expanding.  

With Points on an Infinite Line, Rosenboom quite literally brings his grandiose scope home. The album was recorded in his own garage with close friends Gavin Templeton (alto saxophone), Billy Mohler (double bass), and Anthony Fung (drums & percussion). This was actually the last recording session at the Orenda Records headquarters prior to the pandemic lockdown, and embodies the gritty, stripped-down, DIY aesthetic of much of Los Angeles’s creative underground. In fact, the album’s eight tracks were composed in a single day, refined at a three-night residency at LA’s Sam First Jazz Club, and finally recorded in a single three-hour session. Rosenboom engineered and mixed the album himself, with production input from Mohler, and it was mastered by long-time collaborator and Orenda Records artist, Sam Minaie. This familial approach embodies the Orenda ethos: that community is our greatest strength.

Points on an Infinite Line opens with a shimmering percussion and trumpet introduction to “Momentum,” an inexorable, slow burn featuring fantastic group interplay. From the get-go, Don Cherry’s guiding influence can be felt hovering gently above the band, and two of the album’s cuts derive their titles from quotes by luminaries John Coltrane and James Newton. “A Force for Good” recalls Coltrane’s stated purpose, and “Come Humble” comes from a recent interview between Rosenboom and Newton. These and other influences are palpable in spirit more than style, but underscore the continuum on which this music falls. Throughout the record, the horn interplay between Rosenboom and Templeton is remarkable, as they nimbly weave compelling solo and duo exchanges and synchronized melodies. Mohler’s hypnotic bass lines provide a churning foundation, especially on tunes like “Fellowship” and “Solidarity,” and Fung’s dynamic drumming propels the music with steady fire. The whole band’s interaction is consistently joyous and inventive. “Impulse and Influence” and “A Moment of Clarity” both employ alluring chromaticism as a launch pad for expansive group improvisation, with solo and duo breakdowns that spotlight each musician’s individual creativity. The album closes with “2020,” a raucous burst that reflects the frenzied absurdity of the current American moment, and with its berserk improvisation, recalls John Zorn’s Spy vs Spy in a meta-reference to Ornette Coleman’s pervasive and enduring influence.

As current as its themes are, Points on an Infinite Line is timeless music. The spirit presented in these sketches highlights our need for connection, across time and space, to share in the joyous and healing power of music. In its best moments, art offers humanity a chance at shared consciousness and spiritual growth, and this band's spontaneous synchronicity demonstrates this pursuit with clarity, levity, power, and grace. As we evolve as a culture, we remember that our experiences are part of an infinite continuum that connects us all.

Experimental Rock Group Snow Nerds Release "Midnight Masquerade" on Orenda Reocrds

Midnight Masquerade is the newest album from experimental rock group Snow Nerds. This album is defined by its enticing beats, unique instrumentals, and charming absurdity. Stylistically it occupies an intriguing space between jazz, funk, and post-punk; a space in which dance music can live along side experimental improvisation.

"Snow Nerds has a bright, zippy sound and a warm sense of humor...[they] have an excellent rapport, and Sucher’s knotty melodies leave plenty of room for some excellent improvisation." -Lee Rice Epstein, freejazzblog.org

At the heart of Snow Nerds is the musical history of saxophonist Ted Taforo and guitarist Jake Sucher. The pair have been writing music and performing together since their days in music school years ago.

In 2017 Snow Nerds released their debut album Gup Life on Orenda Records. While this album served as a fairly unaltered documentation of the band’s live sound, Midnight Masquerade embraces multi-tracked layers of drum samples, synthesizers, and live instruments to create a radiant collage of sound and rhythm. As the album begins, the unsettling mystery of "Temporaria Ch. 1" gives way to the thumping kick and bright melodies of the title track. The album continues on with a variety of textures and feels. From the seductively lazy groove of "Green Dortch", to the twisted euphoria of "Millionaire", to the sensitive instrumental duet "Quit Your Job", listeners are lead on a fantastical journey through sound and emotion.

Overall, Midnight Masquerade serves as a refreshing reminder that serious music can be made while not taking oneself seriously. With audio mastering by David Aguila, artwork by Yoo-Jin Oh, and original music videos by Evan Sucher and Ted Taforo, this album embodies a striking and unique aesthetic.

"This band will have you smiling and scratching your head!” -Larry Koonse, Jazz Guitarist

Pianist/Composer Cathlene Pineda Releases "Rainbow Baby," Her 3rd Album on Orenda Records

Rainbow Baby, the third and most personal recording as a leader by jazz pianist and composer Cathlene Pineda, is an impressionist rendering of four years of motherhood, pregnancy, loss, and, ultimately, love. It is a personal tale with a universal theme.

Pineda is a classically trained pianist who began playing piano at three years old. “I started so young, don’t remember my life without the piano. It’s an integral part of who I am.” She always wanted to be a pianist, and she wanted to make sure her technical skills were top-notch, so she enrolled in The Mannes College of Music, an elite academy that is part of the New School in New York City. The school is known for its rigorous classical training, and many of its graduates go on to work in the world's premier orchestras, ensembles, and opera houses.

Living in New York gave Pineda a lot of opportunities to hear live jazz. She absorbed the music like a sponge and was especially drawn to the more avant garde artists. After graduation, she spent a lot of time composing, transcribing, and going out to hear music. She also had several private lessons with David Lopato and the redoubtable Fred Hersch. Pineda also started composing during this period and applied to CalArts in Southern California to further her education and immerse herself in jazz. CalArts is a highly competitive school whose enrollment criteria is based on demonstrated talent, creativity and commitment -- all requirements Pineda easily fulfilled. She moved to the West Coast and worked on her master’s degree in jazz piano and composition. After graduation, she became part of the Southern California jazz scene, working with many talented artists, like Charlie Haden, Bobby Bradford, Art Lande, Wadada Leo Smith, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Kris Tiner, Vinny Golia, and Joe LaBarbera.

Pineda released her first album of original compositions, A Week's Time, in 2014. The Los Angeles Times called the album "a graceful pleasure." Her second album, Passing: A California Suite, released in 2016, was commissioned by the Los Angeles Jazz Society and premiered at the Angel City Jazz Festival at the REDCAT theater. It is a suite of music based on the work of Los Angeles' first Poet-Laureate, Eloise Klein-Healy.

Around this time, Pineda’s first child was born. “I thought I could do it all, perform and raise my baby,” says Pineda. “But motherhood, especially for a new mother, is pretty overwhelming, and I had to put my performance schedule on the back burner for a while.” She eventually returned to performing, and after a couple of years, she and her husband wanted to have another baby. But this time, things didn’t go as planned. She was devastated after having two miscarriages. She had a young child to care for and love, and a supportive husband to help her get through it, but it still exacted a high emotional toll.

When she became pregnant a third time, she was terrified she would lose this baby, too. But, happily, she carried the baby to term, and her daughter was born in January of 2019. Pineda had begun composing tunes for Rainbow Baby after her second miscarriage and, with a clear mind and full heart, finished it after her second baby was born.

The experiences over the past four years of love and joy, tempered by sorrow and loss, had given her new perspectives on life and a deeper sense of empathy, which she translated into music.

For CalArts students, the school is like a family, and Pineda was lucky to be friends with some of their notable graduates, whom she asked to be on this recording. They are all leaders in their own right, and include Kris Tiner, trumpeter and composer, founder of the Epigraph Records label, and Director of Jazz Studies at Bakersfield College; drummer Tina Raymond is an in-demand session player and recording artist who has performed around the world; and David Tranchina is a bass player who has composed music for jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles, and animated and documentary films.

Pineda opens the album with the tune “1Nine,” which refers to the birth of her daughter, who was born in January of 2019. It was a time of joy but also a time of great concern, as her father had emergency brain surgery on the day her daughter was born. The song comprises different sections which Pineda explains, “I heard all these different pieces in my mind, and somehow they fit together to tell the story of the happiness we felt on the day my daughter was born, but also the intense anxiety we had about my father’s health. For me, the song represents our ability to celebrate life with all its joy and sadness.” “Rainbow Baby,” the title tune, refers to a baby born after a miscarriage or loss.

“Milo” is the name of her son. She wrote the song in different sections to reflect the different sides of her son’s personality. “Wonder Weeks” is loosely composed tune featuring free improvising. The title refers to a book and an app that explains how a baby develops week by week over its first year. “Wild Geese II” and “Wild Geese IV” are two sections of a suite that Pineda wrote inspired by the poem of the same name by Mary Oliver. “Carriers I” and “Carriers II” is about being a mother and all the weight and responsibility that a mother carries. Pineda closes the album with “The Collective Memory.” She has a long association with dancers and enjoys writing for artists in other fields, like animators and puppeteers. She originally wrote this composition for a dance troupe but adapted it for this album.

Cathlene Pineda’s playing and composing are technically astute and emotionally gratifying. She is able to weave intricate patterns without overwhelming the songs with needless complexity. She writes and plays from her heart and head, which makes Rainbow Baby a completely fulfilling musical experience.