Anna Webber Simmer Wince

Idiom by composer/saxophonist/ flutist Anna Webber is the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed release Clockwise, which the Wall Street Journal called "visionary and captivating" and NPR described as "heady music [that] appeal to the rest of the body.

Pi Recordingsis pleased to welcome saxophonist/ flutist/ composer Anna Webber(b. 1984) as the latest addition to the label’sfamily. A 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, she has been an active performer and bandleader on the New York scene for the last decade, appearing with Matt Mitchell(A Pouting Grimace), Dan Weiss(Sixteen: Drummers Suite), and Jen Shyu(Song of Silver Geese), all on Pi, in addition to other significant releases including All Can Workfrom drummer John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble (a 2018 Grammy nominee) and Engage, upcoming from trumpeter Dave Douglas.

Percussive Mechanics: there's nothing mechanical about it. The young Canadian Anna Webber has been highly praised by such illustrious colleagues as pianist Jason Moran. Here, with a seven-piece ensemble of highly talented young musicians, she shows what exciting and unexpected sounds she can create.

Composer and saxophonist Geof Bradfield’s music straddles diverse streams of the African Diaspora, drawing on modern jazz, Southern blues and roots, and African rhythms. With Colossal Abundance, his 10th album as a leader, Bradfield unveils his most ambitious work to date. Colossal Abundance is a meditation on the fabulous wealth—material, intellectual and spiritual—and abject poverty that coexist in modern society. Expanding upon his critically acclaimed Yes, and… music for nine improvisers (2017), Bradfield leads a stellar 12-piece ensemble through a program of his own compositions and new interpretations of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Henry Threadgill and Jaki Byard.

Composer and saxophonist Geof Bradfield’s music straddles diverse streams of the African Diaspora, drawing on modern jazz, Southern blues and roots, and African rhythms. With Colossal Abundance, his 10th album as a leader, Bradfield unveils his most ambitious work to date. Colossal Abundance is a meditation on the fabulous wealth—material, intellectual and spiritual—and abject poverty that coexist in modern society. Expanding upon his critically acclaimed Yes, and… music for nine improvisers (2017), Bradfield leads a stellar 12-piece ensemble through a program of his own compositions and new interpretations of John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Henry Threadgill and Jaki Byard.

Letters to George is the debut recording of drummer/composer/bandleader-extraordinaire John Hollenbeck and his brand new band GEORGE, featuring Anna Webber, Aurora Nealand, and Chiquita Magic. Pre-GEORGE Hollenbeck had two main creative outlets for his composing and drumming (both still active to varying degrees): The Claudia Quintet, his long-standing band featuring Chris Speed, Drew Gress, Matt Moran, and Red Wierenga, has been redefining jazz for the last 25 years. And the GRAMMY-nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, a 19-piece big band assembled in 2005, whose lineup reads as a who’s-who of modern creative jazz (notable members are Theo Bleckmann, Matt Mitchell, Patricia Brennan, Tony Malaby, Anna Webber, to name just a few). So a new band, and the first one in 17-years, is kind of a big deal for Hollenbeck, and for jazz fans across the world. On a personal note, this is a very special album for me (Adam Hopkins) to have as part of the OOYH Records catalog. John has been a bit of a mentor to me since subbing for Drew Gress in the Claudia Quintet on a 2017 tour, when I saw firsthand what an incredible band leader he is, as well as his complete devotion to this music. I can say without hesitation that there is not a single element of this recording, or this new band, that does not receive the utmost attention to detail or careful consideration from John.

This remarkable vocal album, which won the prestigious Amadeus Music Award in 2003, features soprano Anna Netrbko in stunning renditions of works by Puccini, Berlioz, Mozart, Bellini, and Dvorák among others. A multiple Grammy-nominee and the first opera singer ever to be named to the TIME 100 list (Time magazine’s list of the most influential people in the world), Netrebko takes on these masterworks with startling vivacity and vocal virtuosity.