NEWS
SOMETHING IS COMING!
Blue Salience: For Yusef Lateef
So...much...music!
It's quite literally spilling out of me these days. On stage at gigs, I cherish every moment I'm lucky enough to sing through my saxophone, that magical metal contraption of love and joy. In recent months, the studio has been my salvation. I've been hard at work on a massive project that is close to my heart, Blue Salience: For Yusef Lateef. Composed over the last few years, including during intensely productive recent residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell, and spilling across nearly 400 pages of score organized into 13 pieces, the project features a brand-new 17-piece version of my ensemble, Jason Robinson's Janus Orchestra.
Inspired by and dedicated to Dr. Yusef Lateef, the legendary figure in American music who called western Massachusetts home for many decades, I see the project as both a tribute to one of my important inspirations in music, as well as a pledge to celebrate Dr. Lateef's continuing influence in our corner of New England. Information about the project will become available gradually over the coming weeks and months, gaining momentum as we approach its anticipated release date in late 2026. If you're not already subscribed to my quarterly email newsletter, you can do so at the bottom of this page. I'll include updates about the project in future newsletters. Click the link below to visit a page that will be updated as more news about the project is made available.
Ancestral Numbers I/II Deluxe Box Set
Collector's item: A special limited edition release
A gorgeous, meticulously curated handmade box set. A one-of-a-kind find for the discerning collector! A sleek LP-sized black box with simple yet stunning gold foil leaf printing contains the CD digipak versions of Ancestral Numbers I and Ancestral Numbers II set in a custom handmade foam insert covered in beautiful red velvet fabric. Also included is the Ancestral Numbers I & II large format (12-inch by 12-inch) limited edition booklet, which includes an extended essay about the project, and a rare 1-inch Ancestral Numbers I & II button. Each set is individually numbered in a limited edition set of 20. A special note from Jason Robinson accompanies each set. Priced below the cost of materials, this is an art piece designed for collectors. Unique and rare!
Ancestral Numbers II
Released on 8 October 2024 (Playscape Recordings)
Released on 8 October 2024, Ancestral Numbers II is the second in a series of two new albums that feature a quintet version of Robinson's Janus Ensemble. Joined by trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Ches Smith, Robinson's 20th album continues his evocative sound meditation on family history across time, generations, and locations. Both volumes of Ancestral Numbers are rich with sonic portraits of Robinson’s ancestors that unfold from genealogical discoveries and imagined intergenerational conversations. The album is accompanied by an October 2024 performance tour in the US Northeast and the release of a special limited edition box set.
"A significant artistic achievement"
—Troy Collins, Point of Departure
"Close to perfection"
—Thierry de Clemensat, Paris Move
"Intricately designed music...by turns funky, swinging, and free, with an unerring sense of musical narrative...played by a stellar band"
—Jon Garelick, Boston Globe
Ancestral Dubbers
Dub remix by Marcus Urani, released 11 June 2024
Available worldwide, with official full length video. Ancestral Dubbers⸺a special dub remix by Marcus Urani (Rising Tide, Groundation) of Second House from Jason Robinson, Ancestral Numbers I (Playscape, May 2024). A dub reimagining brings together long time friends and collaborators Robinson and Urani in a wild jazz-meets-dub soundscape featuring Robinson’s Janus Ensemble, with Robinson on tenor saxophone, Michael Dessen on trombone, Joshua White on piano, Drew Gress on bass, and Ches Smith on drums and glockenspiel, mastered by reggae engineer legend Jim Fox. Long ago and far away Urani and Robinson were part of the Sonoma County, California music scene that spawned reggae touring powerhouse Groundation, and a vibrant jazz scene that exploded in many directions. Friends and collaborators for 30 years, they team up again to introduce a new set of musical possibilities. Ancestral Dubbers is streaming everywhere on 11 June 2024 and available artist direct at jasonrobinson.bandcamp.com. Full length video available exclusively at youtube.com/jasonrobinsonmusic.
"If you like music that crosses borders and tends to the edgy and unpredictable, you'll love this. If you haven't yet freed your tastes from the gridlocked high road of traditional song structure, now's your chance to expand your horizons. It's a journey well worth taking."
—David O'Byrne, outsideleft.com
"It's 7 minutes of fantastical trippery, true to the musicians' feel but a Cre-a-tion all its own. Check it out."
—Greg Burke, metaljazz.com
Summer 2024 Europe Tour
France, Czechia, Hungary
Robinson heads to Europe in July 2024 to perform with GROWLER, a new group that reunites Robinson with long time musical friends, bassist Scott Walton (Cosmologic, Trummerflora) and trombonist Christopher Robin Cox (51st Monkey), along with several new collaborators. Concerts in France, Czechia, and Hungary.
Ancestral Numbers I
Released on 14 May 2024 (Playscape Recordings)
Released on 14 May 2024, Ancestral Numbers I is the first in a series of two new albums that feature a quintet version of Robinson's Janus Ensemble. Robinson is joined by trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Ches Smith. The subsequent album in the series, Ancestral Numbers II, is scheduled for release in October 2024, which will be accompanied by a series of tour dates in the US Northeast.
"An 'essential' that deserves your full attention."
—Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move
"Ancestral Numbers I is not just heard; it is experienced. It serves as an acute reflection on personal and collective journeys, encapsulating the power of music to convey deep familial connections and historical legacies. Through its acoustic purity and emotive depth, this album invites listeners into a reflective adventure of where they come from and the music that moves them."
—Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
"It’s so rare nowadays that you hear truly original music that makes sense even when it flaunts the rules."
—Lynn René Bayley, Art Music Lounge
Three spring 2024 shows in western Massachusetts
March 30, April 25 & May 10
Fans in western Massachusetts area have a few opportunities to catch Robinson presenting several projects. On March 30 he debuts his New Quintet at the "Words and Music" Faculty Composition Showcase event at Amherst College. Featuring trumpeter Zoe Murphy, pianist Anastassiya Petrova, bassist Jacob William, and drummer Richie Barshay, Robinson's New Quintet will premiere new pieces from his Ancestral Numbers and For Yusef Lateef composition series. On April 25, Robinson brings together new and longtime collaborators from Boston and New York for a concert called Confluence: An Evening of Jazz. Robinson will be joined by veteran saxophonists Allan Chase and Charlie Kohlhase, along with bassist Matt Dwonszyk and featuring special guest, drummer, composer, and filmmaker George Schuller. The concert will take place at the Blue Room at CitySpace in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Also at the Blue Room, on May 10 Robinson’s local community building project for musicians called Creative Music Gathering will give a rare public facing performance featuring a cross section of the region’s most exciting improvisers and composers. Details for all of these events are on the TOUR page.
Ancestral Numbers Recording
Summer 2023
Robinson takes a quintet version of his Janus Ensemble into the recording studio to record two albums -- Ancestral Numbers I and Ancestral Numbers II -- of his ongoing composition project of the same name, which draws from numerical relationships in his family's history to inspire compositional forms that are then brought to life with his collaborators. The two albums will feature Robinson with longtime friends and collaborators Michael Dessen (trombone), Joshua White (piano), Drew Gress (bass), and Ches Smith (percussion). The albums will be released in summer and fall 2024 on Playscape Recordings.
Debut, two compositions dedicated to villages of Erving, Massachussetts
September 10, 2023, Erving Riverfront Park
Awarded a grant from the Erving Cultural Council and the Mass Cultural Council, Robinson convenes a quartet to debut two new compositions dedicated to the villages of Farley and Ervingside in the town of Erving, Massachusetts, where he resides. Also featuring other jazz compositions inspired by places, the concert is part of Erving's Summer Concert Series at Riverfront Park. All ages and free!
Summer 2023 Japan Tour
June 2023
Originally scheduled for summer 2020, Robinson performs throughout Japan at the beginning of June 2023 with guitarist Eric Hofbauer in support of their release Two Hours Early, Ten Minutes Late: Duo Music of Ken Aldcroft (Accretions, 2020). They're joined by Robinson's longtime friend and collaborator Marcos Fernandes and local collaborators in each city.
Debut, Malachi, Ancestral Numbers Series
March 31, 2023, Amherst College
Performing on the Arts at Amherst Initiative's Arts Faculty Showcase at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, Robinson premiered "Malachi," on of a series of compositions to be recorded by his Janus Ensemble in August 2023 for his Ancestral Numbers project. The performance featured a special configuration of his ensemble; he was joined by trumpeter Thomas Heberer, pianist Angelica Sanchez, bassist Avery Sharpe, and drummer Yoron Israel.
Talk at Columbia University
April 2023, Center for Jazz Studies
Robinson gave an invited talk titled “From Farm Shares to Jazz Shares: Alternative Community-based Music Presenting in Western Massachusetts,” highlighting the innovative arts presenting and community building being done by the great folks of Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares. Robinson recently published a review about Jazz Shares in the journal Jazz and Culture (University of Illinois Press).