face it

Lewis Jordan is a saxophonist and poet, playing to scale walls, working to build bridges. In this recording Jordan and Music at Large face it: face the music and face the fact that we are all cleared for departure. In this recording, longtime collaborators, Jimmy Biala, Karl Evangelista and Erich Hunt, join with new collaborators, Sandi Poindexter and Robert Lopez.

Musical inspirations—from Leadbelly to Charlie Parker to Archie Shepp—are recognized in the poetry and music. Reflection on and refraction of society are part of the soundscape. Poetic license claimed and declaimed.

There are elements in this recording that continue to be the touchstones for music at large, music that will not be confined or cornered: the will to speak truth to power in song and words; the imperative to remind ourselves when and whence we were first touched; the desire for a collective form of improvisation that we can always bring our hearts to.

released April 2, 2019