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| June 6: Pianist Julian Shore's stunning new trio album Sub Rosa on Chill Tone "Sub rosa" – the term conjures shadowy images of secret messages and covert operations, espionage and investigation. Jazz has always been something of a coded language, able to convey deep and complex meaning in abstract form, communicating emotions without explicit explanation. Pianist Julian Shore delivers his own collection of clandestine communications on his compelling new album Sub Rosa, out June 6, 2025 via Chill Tone. Sub Rosa is the second release for Shore's profoundly intuitive trio with bassist Martin Nevin and drummer Allan Mednard. Their 2023 self-titled debut was a largely informal affair, an impromptu session motivated by the lifting of lockdown restrictions. Their follow-up reflects more than two years of camaraderie and evolution since that initial meeting, capturing the remarkable fluidity with which the three bandmates reshape the music in the moment. The material that Shore has penned for them is rooted in personal experience, though the composer hopes that the music speaks for itself. "I hinted at different elements of my life in the titles of the tunes, but I never want to give the whole picture away, " Shore says. He points to an oft-quoted interview with David Lynch, in which the late film director laments having to discuss the meanings behind his cryptic narratives. "As soon as you finish a film, " he said with a wince, "people want you to talk about it. The film is the talking… It's the whole thing." The subterranean undercurrents of meaning and complex intuitive leaps that imbue the music on Sub Rosa is also hinted at, albeit mysteriously, in the album's intriguing cover art by Shore's mother, artist Tayo Heuser. The painting, with the mirrored head of an antelope surrounded by multi-hued geometric forms, contrasts figurative depictions with pure abstractions, leaving it to the viewer to draw their own connections between the disparate elements. "I've grown up around abstraction my whole life, " Shore explains, citing his mother's influence. "So I'm comfortable with it. I think that's what drew me to jazz in the first place – I enjoy the play between the abstract and the concrete. Take the way that jazz musicians play standards. There's something special about taking what could be seen as a simple song and then twisting it with this eruption of expression." No one embodies those ideals better than the legendary Wayne Shorter, a musical hero of Shore's who he was fortunate to have studied with briefly during his time at Berklee College of Music. The members of Shorter's revered quartet – Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade – have all become mentors and collaborators. "Wayne almost never spoke about his music with specificity, " Shore says. "He was always concerned with the unknown and the beauty within that. He tended to give his compositions enigmatic titles that allow the listener to discover a personal relationship with the title or the music itself. I miss that magic a little bit when projects become too conceptual." Shorter's inspiration is woven throughout Sub Rosa, which concludes with a short, minuet-like excerpt from the saxophonist's "Pegasus" as a send-off. His influence is directly hinted at on the album's opener, "Messenger, " a reference to Shorter's era-defining tenure in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers as well as the role he played throughout his influential life and career. His last words were reportedly, ""It's time for me to get a new body and continue the mission, " which provide the title for the searching second piece, "Mission." Proof of concept for the trio's ability to abstract familiar material is provided by the kaleidoscopic deconstruction of "All the Things You Are, " one of the most frequently reprised songs in the jazz canon. "It's an extreme version of the idea of taking a show tune and expressing over it, " Shore says. "'All the Things You Are' is such a jazz trope; it has become a real blank canvas for decades." The trio sticks closer to the original for their achingly gorgeous rendition of Brian Wilson and Tony Asher's "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder), " one of the indelible classics from The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, its title in keeping with the album's anti-conceptual concept of letting actions speak in lieu of words. A sly take on Duke Ellington's "Blues in Blueprint" offers a lesson from one of jazz's most iconic composers in how to abstract and elaborate on a fundamental form. The remainder of Sub Rosa is made of Shore's original compositions, which walk a fine line between captivating, memorable melodies and the freedom to explore, sparking an ideal blend of beauty and spontaneity. Encoded within them are real world experiences, from health struggles close to home to waking dreams, but their impacts resonant more strongly than their explanations. The pianist shares an elusive chemistry with Nevin and Mednard, rich with intensity, harmony and humor. "Allan is one of the most in-demand drummers in New York, and probably the most flexible, " Shore describes. "He can play everything from the complex and modern to the straightahead with real authenticity, joy and spirit, which pretty rare. Martin is one of the funniest people I have ever met, but he's the most mature musician I've ever played with. Musically he's always the adult in the room; he knows how to survey what's happening and find exactly what the music needs at any moment." Sub Rosa may conceal its share of secrets, but the chemistry shared by the Julian Shore Trio and the deep feeling and intellect of Shore's compositions is impossible to hide. It's a rewarding exercise for the listener to unearth the rich meanings hidden within. Julian Shore Pianist Julian Shore is known for his "deep maturity as a composer and bandleader" (DownBeat). Based in New York, Shore has become one of the city's most sought-after pianists. He has performed with artists as varied as John Patitucci, Gretchen Parlato, George Garzone, Theo Bleckmann, Chico Pinheiro, Chris Speed, Sara Gazarek, Caroline Davis, Noah Preminger, Dave Stryker, Don Braden, säje, among many others. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center and major venues and festivals across Europe, Asia and South America. As an educator, Shore remains active in a variety of settings. He was an artistic consultant for Herbie Hancock's Master Class for masterclass.com, and transcribed and notated hundreds of pages of Hancock's piano performance for the course. He teaches privately at the New School, through the New York Jazz Academy, and has presented workshops and master classes at universities and performance venues across the globe. Julian Shore Trio – Sub Rosa Chill Tone – CT0004 – Recorded August 27-28, 2024 Release date June 6, 2025 write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |