Saxophonist Alison Shearer’s debut album makes a statement. A statement about loss, and struggle, and the restorative power of music. Written soon after the passing of her father, famed photojournalist John Shearer, "View From Above" transports the listener to that liminal space between sky and earth, where the light shimmers and mundane matters seem small and far away.
Alison’s music is a study in contrasts: jagged, kaleidoscopic rhythms are paired with soaring, lyrical melodies and the rich timbres of saxophone, flute, cello, and voice are paired with electric guitar and bass, synthesizers, rhodes, and drum set. The music is textural, integrating shifting contours and metric modulations yet it remains groovy and aesthetically pleasing.
1. On Awakening
2. Celestial
3. Cycles
4. Breathe Again (feat. Miranda Joan)
5. Toni's Tune
6. Three Flights Up (feat. Wayne Tucker)
7. Big Kids (feat. Jonathan Hoard, Vuyo Sotashe, Chauncey Matthews)
8. Purple Flowers (feat. Hattie Simon)
9. Dawn to Dusk
10. Gentle Traveler
Alison Shearer – alto saxophone
Kevin Bernstein – piano, rhodes, synthesizers
Marty Kenney – electric bass
Hoarce Phillips – drumset
Wayne Tucker – trumpet
Susan Mandel – cello
Miranda Joan – vocals
Hattie Simon – vocals
Jonathan Hoard – vocals
Vuyo Sotashe – vocals
Chauncey Matthews – vocals
All songs written by Alison Shearer
Recorded by Scott E. Linder at Pinch Recording, Queens, NY, in March, 2021
Mixed by Fernando Lodeiro
Mastered by Kelly Hibbert
Album Artwork by Jocelyn Mackenzie
