Addison Frei - Time and Again (January 31, 2022)

Amidst a musical landscape reliant on remote collaboration and new approaches to presenting music, an emerging collection of compositions demanded a return to the format that inescapably calls us back, time and time again: trio.

This session documents the living, breathing connection forged between three musicians in one room, in real time. We embrace the mantra of Counting Sheep and invite a tone row’s movements and Glances, and in song we Remember the voice of Carol Fredette and lament the loss of Frank Kimbrough.

1. Free State 04:41

2. Time and Again 04:23

3. Nothing Like You (Bob Dorough) 04:12

4. Counting Sheep 04:08

5. Ramble for FK 03:56

6. Glances 04:39

7. Winter's Toll 04:44

8. Remember (Irving Berlin) 04:49

9. Relaxin' with Luca 03:29

10. You Broke the Mold 04:45

*All compositions by Addison Frei unless noted

Addison Frei, piano

Ben Wolfe, bass

Terreon Gully, drums

Recorded July 29th, 2021 at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, NY.

Engineered by Michael Perez-Cisneros.

Mixed by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studio in Mount Vernon, NY.

Mastered by Jacob Webb in Haledon, NJ.

Yamaha CFX Piano courtesy of Yamaha Artist Services, New York.

Terreon Gully plays Yamaha drums, Sabian cymbals, Remo drum heads, LP percussion and Vic Firth drum sticks. Ben Wolfe plays Pirastro Chorda strings.

PRE-ORDER

Mark Lewandowski - Under One Sky (November 5, 2021)

Under One Sky is an exploration of both place and self. A musical accompaniment to Lewandowski’s period of transition in his relocation from London to New York City in 2017.  “My aim for this record is to express my feelings, experiences and growth as I float between two major cities and scenes. Both have mighty rivers, both are bustling metropolises, both have imposing skylines and indeed both have strong musical heartbeats, which although moving to a different rhythm, foster creativity through both tradition and individualism. My music is made up of a combination of these two great cities and the sounds that live within them. In this sense, whether I’m in New York or London, I truly feel that I am under one sky’. 

Following the success of his critically acclaimed 2017 debut album, ‘Waller’ (released shortly before his departure to the US), ‘Under One Sky’ sees Lewandowski revisit the piano trio, which he considers his “favourite vehicle for improvising”, in a markedly different  setting than his reimagining of the music of one of the early innovators of the genre - Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller.  Consisting of 11 original compositions, this is Lewandowski’s first recorded statement of his own music. In this album, he proves to be a composer of great skill, conjuring architecturally intricate, crystalline compositions reminiscent of both the Manhattan and City of London skylines. “My aim as a composer is, through the use of form, melody and harmony, to provide an expansive jumping off point from fairly limited information.”

He continues “I try to consolidate all of my ideas into one page of manuscript” a lesson he learned from a semester studying composition with Dave Douglas at the Juilliard School. “For me, clarity of line and melodic narrative are very important. The trio allows the intimacy for all three instruments to weave in and out of each other. To capture this I often have figures and motifs that pervade my compositions.  It’s truly a three way commentary”.

This aspect of Lewandowski’s music becomes clear upon listening to the cyclical ‘Licks’, in which his skill as a gifted and melodious soloist also shines through. The snake-like ‘Provavus’ twists and turns as the instruments rise and fall in counterpoint, demonstrating the virtuosity of his two collaborators, Pianist Addison Frei and drummer Kush Abadey. 

Frei, a classmate of Mark’s from their time as members of the prestigious Artist Diploma ensemble at Juilliard demonstrates masterful pacing, touch and colour. Himself a gifted composer, he illuminates Lewandowski’s compositions from behind the keyboard. Washington DC born Kush Abadey has fast established himself as one of the first call drummers on the international jazz scene, performing with a diverse range of musicians such as Melissa Aldana, Ravi Coltrane and Dee Dee Bridgewater.  Here, he and Lewandowski weave a tapestry of textures both complex and sparse, always maintaining and exhibiting their broad knowledge of the jazz tradition.  Lewandowski’s reverence for this tradition and the history of the music has been a point of admiration from musicians, critics and listeners alike. Indeed the last time he performed on British soil was as a member of the trumpeter, composer and cultural ambassador Wynton Marsalis’ quartet.

This relationship with Wynton as well as other master musicians (recently including drummer, composer and Blue Note Records staple, Joe Chambers) and also his period of extended study with the great bassist Henry Grimes have all helped develop Lewandowski’s multifarious approach to both bass playing and composition.  As have his stints in the trios of celebrated pianists on both sides of the pond. In the UK, as a member of eclectic and imaginative MOBO award winning pianist Zoe Rahman’s trio and in NYC as a member of the beloved New York City institution Johnny O’Neals trio. These vastly different experiences have shaped Mark’s approach in a myriad of ways. As he puts it “with Zoe I learned about exploring identity, place and finding my voice in the music. Mixing and matching smells, sounds tastes and colours from everywhere and every experience in one’s life.

About being musically honest and personally authentic. With Johnny I learned about discipline, the roles of the instruments. A love for the art of song. Of being an accompanist. His beautiful phrasing and voicings taught me a lot too.  And of course it taught me to swing. To swing really really hard. No matter the style of the music, the groove of the music or the setting, being able to swing is invaluable. You can always tell when someone doesn’t know how to do that.” This respect for his elders is obvious by the two dedications on the album - tributes to two trail blazing pianists. “Andrew Hill and Paul Bley embody the spirit of jazz. A watertight knowledge of the music’s tradition twinned with a searching for one’s individual voice through the process of composition, both written and spontaneous. This is why I wanted to honor them on this album”. 

Although the music on this album evokes urban experiences in bustling world cities, the record opens exuding stillness and space. The opening track ‘3459 Miles’ (the distance between London and New York) is an almost pastoral overture to the album. Of this Lewandowski comments “Of course London and New York are separated by great space, both physically and also culturally.  Different time zones, cultural norms, accents and attitudes. The album’s opening is my way of capturing the feeling that that space gives me. Excitement mixed with a feeling of nostalgia. When I was in London I used to look at the map of the world imagining how I’d feel across the other side of the Atlantic.

Well now I know”.  Similarly his beautiful ballad ‘The Same Moon’ captures the composer’s feelings during a 3 year long-distance relationship with his now wife (luckily they are now reunited in their Manhattan apartment). “I used to sit outside really late at night or really early in the evening gazing at the moon. It might sound overly poetic, but I imagined my wife looking at the same moon all those many miles away”.  The piece features an extended solo by the bassist, caressing the strings and highlighting the sweet melodious tone which has become his signature. 

An album full of poise, sophisticated writing, playful interplay and subtlety Mark Lewandowski makes a poignant  impression as both composer and bassist. It is a beautiful document of his blossoming style as he weighs up the influence of both his chosen new home and his native homeland. 

1. Introduction (3459 Miles)

2. Licks

3. Provavus

4. For Paul Bley

5. The Same Moon

6. Islands

7. Very Well

8. Queen of the Orchids

9. For Andrew Hill

10. Skyline

11. Under One Sky

All Compositions by Mark Lewandowski

Recorded at Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, NY (Jun, 2021)

Recorded by Michael Brorby (Brooklyn, NY)

Mixed and Mastered by Alex Bonney (London)

Produced by Mark Lewandowski

Assistant Producers - Addison Frei & Kush Abadey

Executive Producer - Mark Lewandowski

Original artwork by Naomi Allen

Design by Kassandra Charalampi

PREORDER

Kristiana Roemer - House of Mirrors (Sunnyside Records)

Every individual has the opportunity to forge her own path through life making decisions based on internal and external factors. One’s intuitions, lessons learned, relationships and experiences inform the path one takes. Once the course has been taken, there is always reflection on the choices made and on what other choices may have yielded, and what they both may tell about one’s self.

Vocalist/composer Kristiana Roemer likens these wide-ranging deliberations to a disorienting, ever-changing array of looking glasses, thus, the title of her new recording, House of Mirrors. Roemer’s recording debut finds the vocalist at an exciting time in her promising career, navigating her unique path, where she is ready to introduce her fabulously broad musical approach and singular experience to the world.

Born to an American mother and a German father, Roemer grew up in a bi-lingual household in Frankfurt, Germany. Her mother instilled the importance of integrating her American with her German culture, namely through attending their English-speaking church and making long summer visits to North Dakota. Music was an important part of Roemer’s life from early on. She began piano lessons at six and then began singing in church and with a traveling choir; her first efforts at songwriting took place by the age of nine.

Roemer was taking classical voice lessons as a teenager when she met a professional pianist who invited her to sing popular tunes and standards with him at a local lounge, and soon they were performing together regularly. Choosing to continue her music education, Roemer received a scholarship to attend Concordia College in Minnesota for a year before she returned to Germany to care for her mother, who had fallen ill and passed away soon thereafter. During this time, Roemer had enrolled for her bachelor of science at Frankfurt University but soon impulse led her to move to Paris, where she spent three years performing regularly at cabarets and clubs and hosting a jam session, along with studying vocal jazz at the Paris Conservatory and completing her bachelor’s degree from abroad. In Paris, she formed a quartet and began performing her original compositions.

On a summer trip to New York, she fell in love with the City. Though Paris had been instrumental in solidifying her love and pursuit of jazz, the openness of New York’s scene made Roemer feel free to truly spread her musical wings and provided the nurturing ground that allowed her to define her musical voice. While writing music had become second nature to her, she felt that to truly express herself in her storytelling she had to broaden her approach, including her introduction of German lyrics along with English.

Roemer moved to New York soon thereafter and dove directly into the jazz scene there, performing regularly at Rockwood Music Hall, Jazz at Kitano Hotel and Cornelia St. Café, and completing her Master of Music in jazz studies at Queens College. Roemer was anxious to record as soon as she arrived. One of the many musicians she met was bassist Alex Claffy, whose enthusiasm for collaboration motivated Roemer to push through the production of House of Mirrors. Roemer set up recording dates and they brought on pianist Addison Frei and drummer Adam Arruda.

The original pieces on her stylistically diverse and explorative recording were selected with the intention of taking the listener on a journey and telling the story in a direct and honest way. These are compositions that Roemer felt needed to come out so that she could continue her growth and explore new pathways. The pieces span from her time in Paris to her time in New York, many having been written with her ensemble and special guest artists in mind. Many of the lyrics, hers and otherwise, began as poetry.

The story is introduced by the title track, a meditative piece exploring decisions made and paths taken, that’s mood is amplified by guest Gilad Hekselman’s sensitive but spacious guitar. The haunting “Beauty Is a Wound” is a tribute to Roemer’s mother, the music going straight to the heart with stripped-down, minimalist but emotionally charged accompaniment by percussionist Rogerio Boccato. The intrepidly upbeat “Virgin Soil” is an benison given to a sister to go out and find one’s own way; gorgeous solos from Dayna Stephens and Frei emphasize Roemer’s message.

Roemer intentionally includes German language in her music, as there has not been much use of the language in contemporary jazz, which she delivers in a natural, relatable way. In seeking German poetry, she discovered Felice Schragenheim’s “Deine Hände,” an uplifting love poem, written by a courageous woman who knew misfortune and died young at the hands of the Nazis, that Roemer arranged exquisitely for the quartet. The intensely persistent “Dark Night of the Soul” utilizes St. John of the Cross’s poem for content but really shines with Roemer’s brazen recitation of her own writing accompanied by Ben Monder’s guitar exploration. Hermann Hesse’s “Manchmal” is a blue-tinged appeal for humans to see our reflection in nature and mend our relationship with it.

Monder’s shimmering guitar tones provide a gorgeous, enveloping soundscape for Roemer’s “Lullaby for N.,” a thoughtful piece echoing the parting of a friend. Roemer adapted Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar” into a metrically intriguing arrangement, the paramour’s message of love heightened by Stephens’s brilliant tenor, Frei’s rhapsodic piano and Claffy’s expressive bass. The recording concludes with Charles Mingus’s “Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love,” a tremendous song about the love of music that brings us back to the journey’s true essence and its ultimate goal, the music.

The music of Kristiana Roemer comes from an honest place, a place of appraisals of actions and embracing all potential paths, whether taken or not. Her House of Mirrors is a diverse and brilliantly devised program of music that illustrates where Roemer has been and where she will go in her bright future.

1. House of Mirrors 03:02

2. Beauty Is A Wound 04:14

3. Virgin Soil 04:46

4. Deine Hände 02:01

5. Dark Night of The Soul 04:57

6. Manchmal 03:03

7. Lullaby for N. 03:56

8. Sugar 05:54

9. Duke Ellington's Sound of Love 04:53

Kristiana Roemer - vocals

Addison Frei - piano

Alex Claffy - bass

Adam Arruda - drums

Gilar Hekselman - guitar (1)

Ben Monder - guitar (5, 6, 7)

Dayna Stephens - saxophone (3, 8)

Rogerio Boccato - percussion (2)

Pre-order

Cowboys & Frenchmen - Our Highway (February 26, 2021 via Outside In Music)

 Cowboys & Frenchmen offer a cohesive view of America on eclectic new video album

Our Highway, due out February 26, 2021 via Outside In Music, reflects on the balance of nature and humanity, the mundane and the spiritual, accompanied by stunning visuals of life on the road

"[Cowboys & Frenchmen] is smart, cohesive, and credible in a way like The Bad Plus or Mostly Other People Do The Killing, using virtuosic skills and rhythmic power to walk the line between irony and earnestness, with listenability as high a priority as group creativity." – Howard Mandel, DownBeat

“The swirling layers this group is able to build upon is remarkable, and when one really listens deep into the music, the interaction is breathtaking.” 

– Geannine Reid, All About Jazz 

Video Album Premiere February 26 via Live From Our Living Rooms

On their forthcoming release, Our Highway (due out on February 26, 2021 on Outside In Music), the inventive quintet Cowboys & Frenchmen reflect on the nomadic life of touring musicians while widening their gazes to take in the landscapes and byways that connect America’s towns and cities.

Recorded live at SubCulture in New York City, the “video album” juxtaposes high-definition footage of the band — saxophonist/co-founders Ethan Helm and Owen Broder, pianist Addison Frei, bassist Ethan O’Reilly and drummer Matt Honor — onstage in one of the Big Apple’s most renowned venues with beautifully shot footage taken during a cross-country tour.

The video captures the hectic pace of big cities, the majestic tranquility of nature and the unexpected surprises and tiresome aggravations that arise while hustling from nightclub to nightclub. Conceived long before the COVID pandemic, these images assume added resonance in light of a lockdown that’s kept most of these venues dark for the better part of the past year.

“Watching this video come together, I got emotional remembering how happy I was when I was the most stressed out,” laughs Helm. “It really comes across that those times when we could get out there and struggle were actually the good times. That made a huge change in the way I think about Our Highway.”

An audio-only edition of Our Highway will be released digitally on February 26, 2021. The band will also partner with venues across the country to present the full video album as live-streaming events, allowing each space to offer the experience to their audiences for a 24-hour period. While far from a typical album release tour, the partnerships offer an innovative new virtual highway for Cowboys & Frenchmen to traverse.

While Helm and Broder typically split compositional duties on the band’s projects, Helm took the lead for Our Highway, writing all of the music and envisioning the theme. Broder contributed to the concepts in the video, and the whole band took turns filming over the course of their travels. Significantly, the majority of the footage comes from one of three locations: Broder’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida; Helm’s native Yorba Linda, California; and the band’s birthplace and home, New York City. “When you’re always in motion, sometimes you have to invent your own sense of home,” Helm points out.

Broder connects that notion with the struggles of making a life in music. “A lot of what we do has to do with finding a balance in our lives – dealing with all that comes with living in New York while piecing together the disparate elements of a freelance career, and also balancing the different paces of life. I really like removing myself from the concrete jungle and being out in nature for a little while, but I don't think that I would like either one to the exclusion of the other.”

Though it arrives during the aftermath of a divisive presidential election, Our Highway looks past politics and offers a more united, holistic perspective of America. “ “It’s a view of the country through our eyes and through the windows of our band’s minivan,” Broder says. “It’s closer to a memoir than a political position.”

“Our Highway was inspired in part by something I’ve noticed when we’ve been on tour,” Helm explains. “It’s amazing to me just how much music connects with people. We see it at every single performance; we have no idea who voted for whom when we’re on the road, but people everywhere come together and enjoy the music. I can’t help but think that’s meaningful.”

A suite collectively entitled “American Whispers” weaves through the album, representing the tension between humanity and the natural world — towering “Pines,” fast-rushing “Streams,” daunting “Mountains,” their imposing stature shaping the frenetic tempos and angular melodies of the pieces. Inspired by Alice Coltrane, “Alice in Promisedland” takes the opposite viewpoint. The piece channels the great harpist/pianist/composer’s spiritual philosophy to locate the harmony between natural splendor and encroaching civilization, illustrated here by relocating the band members to a bustling public park.

The title of “An Old Church” offers a synecdoche for those idyllic scenes of American life that a band on the move rarely has time to stop and appreciate. The somber interlude “Where Is Your Wealth?” can be heard as an accusatory demand or a spiritual challenge, in either case raising questions about what we truly value in life. “Gig Life” celebrates the funky, offbeat experiences that forge the bonds of a band, while “The Farmer’s Reason” ends the album with a gorgeously reflective slice of Americana, as mythic as it is profoundly meaningful.

“For us, the traveling is not separate from the art,” Helm concludes. “It’s all part of one lifestyle. Jazz musicians are really lucky because our art form allows us to place a frame around a snapshot in time. The music is always in motion, which is a special quality that we want to highlight with Our Highway.”

Cowboys & Frenchmen

New York City-based Cowboys & Frenchmen offers a new take on instrumentation, composition and orchestration for the jazz quintet. Founded by saxophonists Owen Broder and Ethan Helm, the band garnered stellar reviews with its 2015 debut, Rodeo. Their 2017 follow-up, Bluer Than You Think, received a four-star review from DownBeat Magazine, and was celebrated with an eight-market tour visiting historic stages including Blues Alley (Washington D.C.) and Cliff Bell’s (Detroit). The inspiration for the band’s name comes from a short film by David Lynch, The Cowboy and The Frenchmen — a Western with a unique, left-field interpretation of that classic genre echoed in Cowboys & Frenchmen’s inventive approach to jazz: one foot firmly planted in a genre, the other busy trying to kick down the genre’s door.

1. American Whispers: Pines

2. Alice in Promisedland

3. American Whispers: Streams - An Old Church

4. Where Is Your Whealth?

5. Gig Life - American Whispers: Mountains

6. The Farmer's Reason

Ethan Helm - alto saxophone, flute

Owen Broder - alto and baritone saxophones

Addison Frei - piano

Ethan O’Reilly - bass

Matt Honor - drums

Composer

Ethan Helm

Producer

Ryan Truesdell

Mixing Engineer

Brian Montgomery

Mastering Engineer

Sonny Nam

Jacob's Well Mastering

Recording Engineers

James Hartnett

Mac Stringer

Cowboys & Frenchmen – Our Highway

Outside In Music – Catalog # OiM2106

Recorded Sept. 29, 2019 at SubCulture, NYC

Release date February 26, 2021