Blooming Blue Note: new releases from Ethan Iverson and Melissa Aldana, and supergroup Artemis play London

Former Bad Plus pianist composer, now burgeoning solo artist, Ethan Iverson has signed to the Blue Note label and will make his debut with Every Note Is True, released 11 February 2022 and featuring his masterful new trio of bassist Larry Grenadier and legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette.

Since leaving The Bad Plus in late 2017, Iverson has collaborated with iconic drummers Billy Hart and Albert “Tootie” Heath; made albums with trumpeter Tom Harrell and saxophonist Mark Turner and compoed for orchestra, big band, and the Mark Morris Dance Group, as well long-running blog Do the Math and his writing for The New Yorker and The Nation.
“I've been extraordinarily busy with a lot of projects that try to assess the tradition,” Iverson says. “Playing with Tootie and Billy was almost a reaction against playing with The Bad Plus every night. But I was starting to feel my oats to play that kind of piano again, so I consciously composed a set of attractive tunes that have a bit of a pop influence. It could never be The Bad Plus without Reid and Dave, but some of that bright big piano is back.”

Another new Blue Note signing is Grammy-nominated saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana who releases 12 Stars on 4 March 2022. At 32, the Brooklyn-based tenor player from Santiago, Chile has gained an international recognition for her superb playing a mature, deeply meditative style of playing and composing. The album was produced by the Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund, who also performs as part of a top-notch quintet with Sullivan Fortner on piano and Fender Rhodes, Kush Abadey on drums, and Aldana’s longtime collaborator and confidant Pablo Menares on bass. A sixth collaborator contributed the album artwork, with Aldana’s close friend, vocalist (and artist) Cécile McLorin Salvant to create the album cover art in which many of album’s themes are manifested.

The saxophonist’s former group, Artemis, of which she was a founding member, are set to make their UK debut at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 20 February 2022. Also signed to Blue Note the all-star powerhouse group features Renee Rosnes (musical director and piano), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Anat Cohen (clarinet), Nicole Glover (tenor saxophonist), Noriko Ueda (bass) and Allison Miller (drums), on their sophisticated, soulful and powerful grooves packed with collective and individual virtuosity.

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