With Love, From New York Adam Larson

• 1Aerial Landmasses04:57
• 264 Squares (searching for fish)05:52
• 3Soar05:03
• 4Perspective03:18
• 5Moment of Clarity07:37
• 6Deception06:56
• 7Cellular Snacks03:50
• Total Runtime37:33

Info for With Love, From New York

"With Love, From New York" is the new album from saxophonist Adam Larson. Marking Larson’s eighth release as a leader, With Love, From New York is most notably the last installment in his series of trio albums recorded in 2021 and 2022, each featuring rhythm section mates who hail from cities important to his musical development: Chicago, his current home of Kansas City, and his former home of New York City.

The album is the third and final installment in the trilogy of trio albums that feature a trio of mine from Chicago, KC and NYC. This album "With Love, From New York", features bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Obed Calvaire and was recorded this past June in Brooklyn, NY. The album includes 7 original compositions of mine that span the gamut from rock to trap-beat and straight-ahead swinging!

It serves as a punctuation mark on his flurry of recent activity, with first-call New York musicians Obed Calvaire and Matt Clohesy assisting with effortless elan on drums and bass.

“We played a few gigs together as a unit while I was in New York, and the way that their particular playing styles complimented one another was something that stuck with me,” Larson explains about his bandmates on the album. “Obed’s sound is very flexible and made it easy to tackle the many different ways that the record unwinds, compositionally. Through dozens of gigs with Matt with my projects at 55 Bar, he became my number one call for electric bass. I knew I wanted the best of both worlds on this final installment, and his electric playing on these tunes really does the vibe justice.”

Distinctly, Larson’s With Love, From Chicago calls upon his early musical markings. Though he was raised two hours outside of Chicago, Larson unveiled his love for the Windy City only after leaving it for New York. The lively melodies and bright-tempoed vibrance that make up Larson’s Chicago installment are, therefore, an exploration of his early development as an artist. Returning with a reflection on his New York chapter, Larson continues with a similarly-charged yet stylistically distinct output on With Love, From New York.

Playing in an improvisational setting void of chords can be a double-edged sword for musicians. Without the additional harmonic context, a soloist may have more freedom to explore a wider range of melodic options; it can also, inevitably, create more textural accountability with certain musical choices; content which might otherwise be contributed by guitar, keys, or vibraphone.

"Larson sounds both lighter than air and burning with energy on this brief album, clearly channeling the spirit of his ancestors and bringing it to life in the twenty-first century,” (Michael Toland, The Big Takeover)

“...an extremely satisfying saxophone-bass-drums trio (“With Love, From Chicago”)...one of those albums that should stay in one’s rotation” (Anthony Dean-Harris, Downbeat Magazine)

“The vitality of the city, one of jazz's preeminent hubs, comes through vividly in the ten performances, each one characterized by freshness and spontaneity.” (Ron Schepper, Textura)

Adam Larson, tenor saxophone
Matt Clohesy, bass
Obed Calvaire, drums

Adam Larson
is an American saxophonist, composer and author. An endorsed artist for P. Mauriat saxophones, The Boston Sax Shop and Key Leaves, Adam began playing saxophone at the age of 11. Described by critic Howard Reich of The Chicago-Tribune as “a player for whom the word ‘prodigious’ was coined”, by Peter Hum of the Ottawa Citizen as “a saxophonist who brings Donny McCaslin and Mark Turner to mind”, and by Nate Chinen of The New York Times as “the sort of jazz musician who gets flagged early on as a promising talent and then hustles to meet every requirement for success”, Larson has garnered numerous awards that distinguish him as one of the most promising artists of his generation. Upon graduating from high school in 2008, Adam moved to New York City to pursue his BM and MM in Jazz Performance on full-scholarship from The Manhattan School, finishing his studies in 2014.

Larson has released seven albums; two for Outside In, one for Ropeadope Records, two under the Inner Circle Music label and two produced independently. Larson’s most recent record “With Love, From Chicago”, received a rare 4.5 Star rating from Downbeat Magazine and was featured in JazzTimes Magazine, among other national media outlets.

Larson keeps an active schedule with his own groups and as a sideman, having performed at several venues across the U.S. including The Green Mill, The Jazz Standard, Birdland, The 55 Bar, The Jazz Gallery, The Blue Note, The Village Vanguard, Smalls, Jazz at The Bistro, The Jazz Estate, The Jazz Showcase, Dazzle, Noce, The Jewell and several others.

Music has allowed Adam to see more of the world than he once thought possible, having toured Poland, India,Taiwan, Holland, and Germany as well much of the United States. Larson’s Trio received a South Arts “Jazz Road Touring Grant” in 2022 and In 2015 Larson’s quartet was selected as one of ten ensembles to tour on behalf of the U.S. State Department's "American Music Abroad" program and toured Africa for 35 days visiting The Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Benin and Ghana.

Beyond maintaining an active touring and recording schedule, Larson continues to be a sought after clinician and masterclass presenter and has been a guest at more than seventy-five Universities across the world. Appearances include visits to HKU Conservatory-Utrecht, Temple University, Yale, Manhattan School of Music, and University of North Texas among many others. Larson is currently on faculty at UMKC Conservatory where he teaches classes in the Arts Entrepreneurship program and previously taught jazz saxophone, music business and pedagogy. In addition to his duties at UMKC, Larson has a diverse private lesson studio of online students from the U.S. and abroad.

Adam has authored 12 jazz etude books that have been sold in over 45 countries and States. He has created and released a successful online masterclass dedicated exclusively to developing great technique, called “Lightning-Fast and Crystal- Clean”. He maintains an impressive portfolio of commissioned ensemble writing for school jazz ensembles, having written more than thirty original works to date. Adam was commissioned by the Illinois Music Educators Association to compose the All-State composition for the 2020 convention, where he directed the Honors Jazz Band. Larson has also directed the South Dakota All-State Jazz Combo.

With a vested interest in giving back, Larson has also worked in various capacities with organizations that showcase exceptional young talent in the United States. Adam has served as a mentor for the Grammy Foundation and as an adjudicator for the Monterey Jazz Festival Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and YoungArts organization. Serving in the role of creative director of the YoungArts New York regional show, Larson has presented multiple genre-bending, interdisciplinary performances held at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. Larson currently resides in Kansas City with his beautiful wife, Tierney and sons Jack and Clark.

This album contains no booklet.