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John Yao Receives Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition Trombonist and composer John Yao presents the long-awaited return of his stellar big band, the 17-Piece Instrument, after a ten-year hiatus Points in Time, out July 11, 2025 via See Tao Recordings, celebrates memorable personal and musical moments from Yao’s two-decade experience in New York City “John Yao is one of New York’s elite trombonists and is also a first-class, ambitious, and witty composer and leader.” – Alan Young, Lucid Culture “Boldly diverse, Yao's compositions cut across the swath of contemporary jazz's field.” – Franz Matzner, All About Jazz Album Preview Concert on June 26, 2025 at the Culture Lab LIC It’s been 20 years since trombonist, composer, arranger and bandleader John Yao arrived in New York City; 10 years have passed since the release of his first big band album, the exuberant Flip-Flop. He’ll celebrate that tandem anniversary with Points in Time, the long-awaited follow-up by John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument (JY-17). While the album arrives as a commemoration of those two significant dates, the music it contains is deeply informed by a number of professional and personal milestones that have marked that two-decade journey. Set for release on July 11, 2025, via See Tao Recordings, Points in Time is enriched and invigorated by a wealth of experiences that Yao has enjoyed since Flip-Flop heralded the arrival of “a strong compositional voice and effective band-leader able to use his 17-piece band to paint across a wide spectrum and infuse his complex writing with a thoughtful balance of audacity, structure, humor, and sonic might” (All About Jazz). “So much of what’s happened over the last 20 years has definitely sparked different emotions that I’ve wanted to express in my music, ” Yao says. “Sometimes those experiences and complex emotions take time to marinate, but ultimately they find their way into my writing and playing in a way that’s something like osmosis.” For the album’s repertoire, Yao culled favorite tunes from throughout his discography, revising small-band compositions in vibrant new big band arrangements. He also showcases the new pieces he’s penned over the intervening years, including works premiered during the “Big Band & Beyond” concert series that the JY-17 hosted at Greenwich House Music School in the wake of Flip-Flop’s release. Several of those new compositions are inspired by the most indelible experiences of Yao’s life. Since arriving in New York, he met and married his wife, Natalie; stood by her and supported her throughout her valiant battle with cancer; and celebrated the birth of the couple’s son, Nolan, following Natalie’s triumphant return to health. All three are reflected in poignant selections on Points in Time: the early days of romance and the fatigue and determination of health struggles on the elegant, moving “Early Morning Walk, ” the sheer joy of new life on “Song for Nolan.” The gifted musicians that make up the 17-Piece group also can be traced to multiple points along Yao’s timeline. Some, including tenor saxophonist Tim Armacost, are classmates from Queens College, where Yao earned his master’s degree in his earliest days in the city, while trombonist Matt McDonaldis an even earlier acquaintance from Yao’s days in Chicago. Others – saxophonists Billy Drewes and Rich Perry, trumpeter Nick Marchione and drummer Andy Watson among them – shared the stage with Yao when he subbed in the legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Drewes is also a member of Yao’s three-horn quartet Triceratops, and several members, including Perry, McDonald, trumpeter David Smith and bassist Robert Sabin, reprise their roles from Flip-Flop. The lengthy span of time since that warmly received debut was no accident – as Yao writes in his liner notes, the “funny thing about recording a big band album [is that] it makes you want to never do it again!” Even though “every note somehow feels worth the struggle, ” he says, “after the first album I was burned out from pushing that boulder up the hill.” Over the ensuing years he turned his attention to far more manageable endeavors: a co-led sextet with trumpeter Jimmy Smith, and a pair of albums with the aforementioned Triceratops. The big band bug never quite left him, however. That passion is evident in Yao’s writing and arranging for Points in Time, on which he revels in, as he puts it, “big band being big band.” After all, he fell in love with playing in large ensembles during his stints in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the pinnacle of traditional big band artistry. Yao isn’t averse to modernism in his own work; witness the striking “The Other Way, ” a bold venture into 12-tone technique that points the way to the JY-17’s planned third outing. But Points in Time strongly embraces those timeless elements that make classic big band music so exhilarating. “Traditional big band elements like sax or trombone soli, or brass opposing saxes, or shout choruses are textures that sometimes get overlooked in the big band idiom nowadays, ” Yao explains. “Not to say that they have to be there, but in addition to being a blast to play, they are valuable in more than just a musical sense. They build morale and camaraderie. As a player of big band music for many years, I’ve found that they raise the level of the music in a way that’s hard to quantify, but you can definitely feel it. I’ve made a conscious effort to weave those elements into the arrangements.” A prime example is “Not Even Close, ” which Yao wrote for his quintet in tribute to VJO founder Thad Jones and recorded on his debut album, In the Now. He once again drew on Jones’ inspiration as he revised the tune for big band, crafting exchanges between saxes and brass reminiscent of Thad’s classic “Little Pixie.” He wrote “First Step” around the same time, but even before forming the JY-17 recognized that it was meant to be a big band chart. It makes its long overdue premiere here. The final reinvention is the brooding “Triceratops Blues, ” the first tune he penned for the three-horn band. Following the release of Flip-Flop Yao has also been commissioned to contribute compositions and arrangements for high school ensembles; Points in Time is bookended by updated versions of two such commissions, the original “Upside” and a fresh take on Herbie Hancock’s “Finger Painting.” The thrill that Yao describes in hearing these young bands play his music echoes his feelings about big band music in general, shedding light on why he’s returned to the form despite the formidable hurdles. “It’s an amazing feeling that you want to experience over and over again, ” he marvels. “Playing a great trombone solo is always satisfying, but hearing musicians from all over the world bring your music to life and connecting with them on a deeper level is an extremely profound experience." John Yao For the past two decades, John Yao has established himself as one of the premier trombonists, composers and arrangers on the New York City jazz scene. Yao’s lyrical soloing and expressive, round tone, combined with his relentless drive to push the boundaries of harmony and rhythm, have established him as a unique and forward-thinking jazz talent. He has been called “one of New York’s elite trombonists and is also a first-class, ambitious, and witty composer and leader” (Lucid Culture) and his compositions are described as “boldly diverse, Yao’s compositions cut across the swath of contemporary jazz’s field” (All About Jazz). In 2023, Yao earned a place in the Rising Star Trombone and Rising Star Big Band categories in the DownBeat Critics Poll. He has built an extensive body of work, collaborating with ensembles and performers worldwide and releasing five recordings as a bandleader—each showcasing his bold, boundary-pushing compositions for both small groups and big bands. In April 2025 he was appointed to the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows in the field of Music Composition. John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument – Points in Time See Tao Recordings – See Tao 005 – Recorded Feb. 12-13, 2024 Release date July 11, 2025 |
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