We are delighted to announce the upcoming album from Finnish vocalist and composer Selma Savolainen. The album will be released worldwide may 15, 2026, her second release with Whirlwind Recordings.
One of the challenges facing the contemporary artist is how to negotiate a balance between an outward facing engagement with the wider world and an inward looking focus on a private inner realm. It’s exactly this tension that gives such energy and depth to in the shade, the stunning second album from Finnish singer/composer Selma Savolainen. “The title came from a day when I was trying to write in a sun-lit apartment in Paris. I felt like the sun was sort of like checking on me every day. Like are you doing the job? Are you busy? And I felt that I was taking part in a conversation between inside and outside.” Selma’s powerful voice and her adventurous musicality are the driving forces behind a mesmerizing set of songs that are rooted in contemporary jazz but use a sound-world that ranges far beyond, bringing in influences from the adventurous edges of post-rock and beyond. Selma’s lyrics explore powerful themes of identity, belonging and personal agency, with her clear-toned, expressive voice leading the way, ranging from intimate whisper to searing emotional outpouring.
Each song is brought vividly to life by the extraordinary creativity of her band. Trumpeter Tomi Nikku and multi-reed specialist Max Zenger provide textural backing and melodic improvisation: Toomas Keski-Säntti deploys a range of different keyboards to expand the vocabulary: the bass and drum team of Eero Tikkanen and Okko Saastamoinen expertly control the dynamics. The sense of fellowship between the players – all long-time friends as well as bandmates – adds a feeling of playful spontaneity that lightens the mood even in the music’s darkest moments.
Each song deals with a very different situation, yet themes of identity and belonging thread through them all. ‘Last Summer’ uses a snarling, heavily distorted Wurlitzer and insistent groove to tell a story of responsibilities and missed opportunities that morphs unexpectedly into a heavy, Radiohead-style coda. Selma’s own mother is the subject of the eerily poised, calmly reflective ‘Your Eyes’ which builds into a stunning trumpet solo from Tomi Nikku. “Tomi has such a wonderful clear sound, and he’s just the sweetest guy, and him and Max have this deep, intuitive relationship when they play together.” The album’s centerpiece is the epic 10-minute magnum opus of ‘Lamb’ that moves though a range of moods and textures to deliver Selma’s heartfelt meditations contrasting the innocence of childhood contrasted with the dangers of different forms of fanaticism.
By contrast, ‘Angry Man’ uses a portentous, urgent groove to tell a story of the way public and private interactions spill over in the age of social media, opening out into a free-ranging keyboard solo from Toomas Keski-Säntti that recalls The Doors at their most compelling. Selma herself plays piano on the hushed, intense ballad ‘House’, spelling out further meditations on the mother-child relationship, that merges into the quirky ‘Lie’ with its entirely original mix of jazz inflections and Kate Bush inspired theatrics . Finally, the title track ‘In The Shade’ moves at stately pace from the opening vocal and bass duet through intricate horn parts and some mesmerizing improvisations from all the participants.
‘in the shade’ is the work of an artist fearlessly moving forward, developing her own unique voice, unafraid to tackle serious themes and creating adventurous, ambitious musical settings in which to explore them. At the same time, the deep friendship and trust between all the players comes across in the audible excitement and playfulness of the performances, creating an interplay of light and shade that captures the attention at every moment.
Thank you to Whirlwind Recordings for sharing with us
Empire Child is the new musical project of Ruth Rothwell, slated for release 15th May 2026
Empire Child is a singer songwriter from London, a child of the Empire. Born and raised in London by parents from Jamaica and South Africa, the Empire Child links the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas and tells the story of navigating life's unpredictable journey.
Having spent decades shaping music culture from the inside out, Ruth—formerly a senior A&R manager at MCA/Universal—played a defining role in the UK’s 90s dance boom, working across BCM Records and later MCA Publishing, where she helped develop artists including Zero 7, Basement Jaxx and Air, while also nurturing key songwriters behind era-defining hits such as Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” and Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” Despite that success, songwriting remained her constant pull. “Songwriting is really my calling and I could no longer ignore that fact,” she says. That instinct now takes centre stage with Empire Child, her most personal body of work to date.
The forthcoming album, produced by Madrid-based jazz professor and producer Mariano Diaz, is rooted in Ruth’s own story, shaped by her upbringing in London and her mixed heritage. Blending jazz, soul, singer-songwriter intimacy and subtle reggae influences, the record explores identity, resilience and self-belief, with themes of letting go of the past and finding the courage to move forward. “The music represents my culture growing up in London,” Ruth explains. “Music will always bring us back together.”
Written between London and Spain, the album unfolds as a reflection on lived experience, from heritage and migration to healing and growth. “Music is my sanctuary, a way to deal with life on life’s terms,” Ruth says. With Empire Child, she steps forward not as the architect behind other artists’ success, but with a voice and story entirely her own.
French-Italian pianist and composer Milena Granci introduces To Some Place New (May 14th, 2026), a striking debut that blends contemporary jazz with folk lyricism and cinematic atmosphere. Based in London, Granci leads a six-piece ensemble whose music unfolds like a journey - built on flowing melodies, layered harmonies and an expansive, emotionally rich sound world.
At the heart of the project is Granci’s desire to move beyond traditional jazz structures, allowing the music to evolve continuously rather than return to fixed forms. “I wanted the music to feel as close to ‘through-composed’ as possible - with minimal repetition,” she says. “When ideas return, they come back transformed, like a story unfolding.” The album’s title track, To Some Place New, reflects that idea directly: music that gradually shifts from introspection and melancholy toward a sense of quiet hope, unfolding layer by layer as the narrative moves forward.
A formative influence on Granci’s approach has been composer and bandleader Maria Schneider, whose expansive writing first inspired her during her conservatoire studies. “Maria Schneider’s compositions opened my ears to a completely different way of developing music.” Another personal influence appears in Remembering John, dedicated to the late pianist John Taylor, whose work Granci studied closely while writing a thesis. The project brings together musicians Granci met while studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama: vocalist Aitzi Cofre Real, alto saxophonist Harry Toulson, accordionist James Pettinger, bassist Ali Watson and drummer Ollie Peszynski. Their interplay helps shape the album’s distinctive palette, where improvisation meets carefully crafted composition. Wordless vocals play a central role in the music’s atmosphere, enabling listeners to impart their own stories and feelings to the music.
With To Some Place New, Granci introduces a distinctive compositional voice shaped by storytelling, collaboration and a rich array of influences. The album marks the arrival of a thoughtful new artist on the London jazz scene - one whose music balances a deeply personal writing style with the openness and imagination of improvisation.
Milena Granci | Piano, Compositions Aitzi Cofre Real | Vocals Harry Toulson | Alto Saxophone James Pettinger | Accordion Ali Watson | Double Bass Ollie Peszynski | Drums
Background info / Liner Notes:
Recorded by Nick Taylor at Porcupine Studio London May 2024
Mixing and Mastering: Alex Killpartrick
Photography: Camille Lemoine
Graphic Design: Giulia Cavallini
The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (JKIBB) – one of the only jazz big bands in the world comprised exclusively of Native and Indigenous people – is releasing its debut album, Incarnadine, on May 8, 2026. Led by celebrated vocalist Julie Keefe (Nez Perce), Incarnadine brings together a 16-piece ensemble to celebrate a largely unrecognized lineage of Indigenous artists in jazz, while presenting new compositions rooted in tribal histories and storytelling. Following extensive touring at major performing arts centers and jazz clubs across the country, Incarnadine offers the ensemble's first recorded statement.
On Incarnadine, celebrated vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) leads her all-star Indigenous Big Band featuring pianist Marc Cary (Wampanoag), trumpeter Delbert Anderson (Diné), bassist Mali Obomsawin (Abanaki of Odanak), trombonist Quinn Carson (Apache/Kiowa), drummer Edward Littlefield (Lingít), and many more. “We are not culturally monolithic,” said Keefe. “We each bring with us the cultural practices of our ancestors and many of our compositions are derived from traditional melodies and stories. With Incarnadine, we dive deeper into improvisatory music from the Indigenous perspective.”
Reflecting on the album’s title, Keefe mused that “while a word from Shakespeare’s Macbeth might not immediately bring “Indigenous jazz” to mind, ‘incarnadine’ means to redden. I think in many ways, the word encapsulates the goals of this band and this album. We are shining a light on history which is fraught with bloodshed and trauma, but also celebrating the brilliance and resilience of Indigenous people who survived and thrived through the beauty of their culture, prayers, and songs. We are broadening the scope of the listener’s understanding of jazz to include Native and Indigenous jazz musicians. Some people say, ‘decolonize your mind’ and I say, ‘incarnadine your mind.”
The album features music made famous by Indigenous jazz musicians from the Twentieth Century such as Mildred Bailey (Coeur d’Alene) and Jim Pepper (Kaw/Mvskoke) but also amplifies new works from musicians within the band’s ranks. Mali Obomsawin’s “Wawasint8da” is a haunting exploration of a Catholic hymn that was translated into the Abanaki language by an early French Jesuit missionary. DDAT Suite by Delbert Anderson pays homage to his tribal lands, commemorates Diné code talkers, and tells the story of an overnight train ride from Gallup, NM to Los Angeles. Keefe’s composition “Sonnet” was inspired by the poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. To quote the late Jim Pepper, “you can’t generalize about Indian music, it’s too diverse.”
“Incarnadine is musical commentary on our Indigeneity and resilience against the generational impacts of colonial powers upon the indigenous peoples of the Americas,” Keefe said. “Incarnadine offers musical history, protest, and celebration all wrapped up in one album.”
Incarnadine was recorded through the support of The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross.
Heralded by the New York Times as "a songbird of a jazz vocalist," Julia Keefe is an internationally acclaimed Native American singer, actor, educator, and director of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, her flagship project celebrating the diversity and vitality of Indigenous people in jazz. Her professional career has spanned over two decades, and she has headlined marquee events at the John F. Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., as well as opened for the likes of 20-time GRAMMY Award winner Tony Bennett and 5-time GRAMMY Award winner Esperanza Spalding. Her life’s work is the revival and honoring of legendary Coeur d’Alene jazz musician Mildred Bailey. Julia earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in jazz vocal performance from the University of Miami and Manhattan School of Music respectively, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Pianist/composer Yvonne Rogers draws inspiration from her magical childhood in rural Maine for her mesmerizing new solo album. The Button Jar, due out May 8, 2026 via Pyroclastic Records, features 14 miniatures conjuring the beauty and mystery of the natural world through the interplay of whimsy and rigor.
Growing up in rural Maine without the distraction of even a television, Yvonne Rogers often found herself alone with nothing but her imagination and the natural world around her for inspiration. Now based in the very different environs of Brooklyn, where she is rapidly emerging as a vibrant new voice on the progressive jazz scene, the pianist and composer often finds herself drawing on those early years to guide her distinctive musical approach.
One image that often returns to Rogers’ mind’s eye is the button jar that her artist mother kept for craft projects – a stockpile of mundane but multi-hued items that could be reimagined into endless creative permutations. “It felt like a jar of possibilities,” Rogers says. “You could use it for any number of projects, but you had to know how to properly sew the button on, so it became a balance of whimsical fun and meticulous craftsmanship.”
That notion became a guiding principle for The Button Jar, Rogers’ captivating new solo piano album. Scheduled for release on May 8, 2026 via Pyroclastic Records, the album provides an entrancing introduction to Rogers’ singular sound, a deeply personal weave of play and rigor that marshals childlike wonder in service of a complex and intricate use of rhythm and harmony.
The sense of play that thrives in the music of The Button Jar can be traced to the music’s origins – a series of short explorations that Rogers posted to social media, never intending them to have a life beyond that disposable medium. It was only at the urging of Pyroclastic founder Kris Davis that Rogers considered revisiting and developing these brief ideas into full-fledged solo compositions.
Davis had become a mentor to Rogers after the two met through Focusyear Basel in Switzerland, where Davis served as one of the instructors for the yearlong international ensemble program. Davis not only encouraged Rogers to record for her label, but produced the album and suggested a solo outing, which came as a surprise, as Rogers’ work to date had been wholly focused on ensemble playing. Her 2023 debut Seeds featured a quartet of peers, and she is a member of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock’s next-generation band Lilith and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill’s quartet Elephant. Rogers also leads her own quartet, which recently received a commission from the venerable NYC performance space Roulette.
“I was immediately struck by Yvonne’s playing,” Davis recalls. “Since the program, I’ve continued to follow her work and have been especially impressed by the solo piano videos she regularly shares on Instagram. She has a unique and personal harmonic and melodic language. I wanted to give her the opportunity to dive deeper into her solo piano approach, so I invited her to record an album for Pyroclastic Records. This is my first time producing an album for another artist on Pyroclastic, and I felt she would be the perfect young artist to uplift and collaborate with.”
The Button Jar casts a spell from the outset, as the gradually evolving rhythms of “Luster” resonate as both pristine and mysterious, contrasted immediately by the evasive angularity of the title track. The chordal density of “Monkey’s Fist” is worlds away from the lilting joy of “Little Dance,” itself distinct from the gentle swing feel of “Puzzle Building.” The pendulum swings from the aching, delicate slowness of “Thread the Needle” to the lively, buoyant dance of “Linear Gel,” its title an anagram for one of Rogers’ formative influences, the great Geri Allen. In addition to Rogers’ compositions, there are three freely improvised pieces: “Avid Risks,” a dedication to (and anagram of) Kris Davis; “The Craft Room” and album closer “Exhale,” a stark release captured at the end of the recording session reflecting on the day’s range of expression.
In a sense, Rogers’ music is a vehicle to recreate the vast imaginative possibilities that her unique upbringing provided. “I grew up in the woods in the middle of nowhere, so I had a very special relationship to nature,” she recalls. “You sense that the world goes on without you, so the problems in your head don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I want my music to do that for other people – to create a space for them to experience this feeling of wonder so that they can get out of their head for a few minutes.”
Yvonne Rogers is a pianist, composer, and multimedia artist from Maine, now based in Brooklyn, New York. Described as a “Fresh, new voice on piano,” (Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective), she is in demand as both a sideperson and bandleader, having performed with artists including Ralph Alessi, Linda May Han Oh, Ingrid Laubrock, Harish Raghavan, Sara Serpa, and more. Rogers is a 2024 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee, a grant recognizing outstanding women in jazz founded by Terri Lyne Carrington and facilitated by New Music USA. She was a member of the 2021/2022 Focusyear Band in Basel, Switzerland, where she performed with jazz masters including Kris Davis, Sullivan Fortner, Tineke Postma, Jorge Rossy, Larry Grenadier, Lionel Loueke, Chris Cheek, Elena Pinderhughes, Miguel Zenón, and more. Currently Yvonne performs with Ingrid Laubrock’s Lilith and Adam O'Farrill’s Elephant, as well as leading her own quartet. Her debut album Seeds was released in 2023 on Relative Pitch Records.
Thank you to Braithwaite & Katz for sharing with us
“When I play with Myra, I always feel like I am having a conversation with my close friend,” says pianist Satoko Fujii
The album title is the Japanese word for a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends and the album reveals just that. As Ed Hazell writes in the liner notes, “It’s rare to hear music in which both participants are so present in the moment and where the deepest truths of the heart are revealed so openly.” Fujii and Melford first met through Paul Bley in 1994 but it wasn’t until 2007 that they first performed together and released their first album Under the Water which was completely improvised They took a different approach on Katarahi, their second duo album.
“I think we found over the years that having some predetermined material was valuable in helping us to shape the different vocabulary and approaches we each have to improvise into a common vision,” says Melford. “We have a great affinity with, and for, each other’s playing, and choosing compositions that allow for a lot of freedom in how we play them seemed to be a great solution for providing a common focus over the course of the concert.”
The title of this album was suggested by Satoko Fujii. It’s a Japanese word meaning a heart-to-heart conversation between intimate friends (what a lovely thing to have a word for!). She chose it, “because when I play with Myra, I always feel like I am having a conversation with my close friend.” Clearly Melford feels the same way. It’s rare to hear music in which both participants are so present in the moment and where the deepest truths of the heart are revealed so openly.
Melford and Fujii share a history together that is longer than their recordings might indicate. Katarahi is just their second album as a duo, after their 2007 debut, Under the Water (Libra). Two albums in nearly twenty years might make it seem like this is a rare event, but such is not the case. Fujii was a student at New England Conservatory studying with Paul Bley in 1994 when he introduced her to Melford at a Melford solo concert in Boston. They have maintained a friendship over the years since then. Their desire to play together finally became a reality in January 2007 when Fujii arranged a duo concert while Melford was visiting a friend in Tokyo. A second concert at Maybeck recital hall in Berkeley, Calif., followed in September of that year. Since then, despite the comparatively few concert venues with two pianos available, Fujii says, “I think we played together twice or three times in Japan, twice in America, twice in Italy, Belgium, Poland, and Austria. I guess we have a history!” Their first album was entirely improvised, but for Katarahi they each contribute compositions. “I think we found over the years that having some predetermined!material was valuable in helping us to shape the different vocabulary!and approaches we each have to improvise into a common vision,” Melford says. “We have a great affinity with, and for, each other’s playing, and choosing compositions that allow for a lot of freedom in how we play them seemed to be a great solution for providing a common focus over the course of the concert. For my compositions, I wanted to! suggest simple structures that provide multiple approaches for development, a balance between having a common focus and plenty of freedom of expression.”
Fujii took a similar compositional approach to the duo. “I brought both old pieces and new ones that I composed for this duo to set a mood and direction,” Fujii says. “We both write a lot of music, and I enjoy playing her compositions. It’s a great way to get a musical direction and ideas.” So, the compositions provide structure, but improvisation – the intimate dialogue– forms the heart of their music. “Satoko has such a strong sense of narrative in how she develops her improvisations –I’m always so impressed by this when I listen to her solo playing,” Melford says. “And she brings that same intensity of focus to our duo.! She’s a great listener and her response time is immediate. She’s so present in the moment that it’s easy to connect and build the music together.” “Myra is amazing,” Fujii says. “She listens carefully to my playing and always plays the right thing at the right moment. We share similar music values, but we are very different performers.” The entire album, recorded live at the 2024 Jazz Festival Leibnitz, could be described as a deep, and especially beautiful, musical conversation. It is also something more. It’s customary on duet recordings to mention who is playing on the right channel and who on the left in order to help identify who plays what. However, Fujii and Melford don’t want that mentioned. First of all, they switched pianos (that is sides) during the concert, so it would be cumbersome to note. More importantly, the responsibility for creating the music is so mutual that noting individual contributions is almost beside the point—the sum is so much greater than the parts. For instance, “Interlude” develops as a thoughtful exchange of ideas, deliberately stated and with mutual respect. But as the piece develops, the pianists interlace their lines, maintaining a perfect balance between them, and generating an organic whole larger than the single contribution of either.
Call and response also open “Signpost” but soon evolves into simultaneous improvisations. Melford and Fujii perform as two equal voices, neither one predominates. If there is any leader, it is the music itself, which carries them into unfettered interactions that grow more elaborate and unconstrained. “Pairs” is perhaps the widest ranging of the duets, starting on the edge of audibility and wandering through digressions until climaxing with high energy outbursts. Again, the equality of the partnership is notable. Neither pianist imitates or follows the other, but the music each makes could not exist without the other. Trust and openness are hallmarks of their work together. Melford’s “Chalk” is an excellent example of how well the duo uses the composition to guide a performance. It’s a mediumtempo lyrical melody whose mood is not entirely lost even when they speed things up. Each in their own way pushes the material in new directions, but they stay connected by using the written line as a reference point throughout.
Val Wilmer famously described pianist Cecil Taylor’s style as “88 tuned drums.” On “Kaiwa” we have twice that many. A barrage of rapid lines chasing each other around starts things out. Dampened strings change the timbre or shorten the decay of individual notes, highlighting their percussive attack. But for all its urgency and cathartic, explosive sounds, the music is buoyant, emerging not from darkness or anger, but from compassion and an overabundance of life. The climactic efflorescence of thundering note clusters and waves of rapid lines explode on the listener as a concatenation of empathy and joy. There are an infinite number of ways to touch a piano key to shape and color the resulting notes. Fujii and Melford explore many of the possibilities on “IV”. There’s a multiplicity of shapes and colors in the opening minutes –notes that are delicate and rock hard, opaque and translucent, notes and tones of different timbre and weights. There’s also an awareness of how respectfully and intentionally one must break silence. Every note is played with purpose and humility and reminds us of our need to communicate with one another on a sincere and honest level. Fujii’s “From Sometime” concludes the disc with a spritely dance of leaping and skipping notes and sounds. It doesn’t exactly convey happiness, but something more spiritual. It expresses the presence of a lifeforce stronger than death, and conjures joy deeper than sorrow –the mysterious force that triumphs by means of fearless self-knowledge and love. Ed Hazell, February 2026
