New Music Monday — Nubya Garcia; John Fedchock; Sarah Hanahan

Join us on Monday, September 30 at noon on Lunchtime! with Arturo Gómez as he debuts new music from Nubya Garcia, John Fedchock, Sarah Hanahan and more!

Nubya Garcia; “Odyssey”
The UK born saxophonist has skyrocketed to international recognition in less than seven years since releasing her first album as a leader. Nubya Garcia was born in Camden Town, London to a Trinidadian filmmaker father and a Guyanese mother. The youngest of four siblings in a musical family, she followed the example of her siblings studying violin and viola. When she turned ten, she began learning the saxophone and while in high school won a scholarship to attend the summer sessions at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

After releasing her debut EP, it was so well received that she was invited to play at the NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Jazz Fest Berlin, and other festivals of note. Her 2020 album “Source” wound up as one of the top recordings of the year in many best of lists around the world. Nubya’s new recording is with strings and features some of the UK’s finest musicians with a special guest on one track, Esperanza Spalding, Garcia will take you on a jazz odyssey with a variety of engaging styles along the way.

John Fedchock: “Justifiably J.J.”
Like most trombonists of the last 50 years, Fedchock was highly influenced by the amazing J.J. Johnson. 2024 marks the centennial of the birth of Mr. Johnson, so after landing a gig at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, J.J.’s hometown, John decided to turn it into a centenary celebration of the trombone legend. Unaware that the sound engineer was recording the night using multi-track soundboards, Fedchock told his bandmates to let it fly and play loose all night long, and man oh man did they! Seven of the eight songs were written by Johnson and the one not composed by J.J. was written for him, “Lullaby of Jazzland” by Manny Albam. Performing in Johnson’s hometown and playing his music inspired the quartet to be cooking at the Jazz Kitchen. John on trombone is accompanied by Steve Allee on piano, Jeremy Allen on bass, and Seas Dobbins on drums.

Sarah Hanahan: “Among Giants”
KUVO Jazz first started to play music featuring Sarah about one short year ago as a member of Peter Martin’s Generation “S.” She made quite an impression on the on-air hosts and listeners. Hanahan studied at the Hartt School of Music’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz where Denver’s own Javon Jackson was one of her instructors. After graduating she relocated to New York to further her studies with pianist Marc Cary, an excellent educator. Sarah’s debut as a leader is her tribute to those titans who preceded her and whose playing shaped hers. The opening track, “Welcome” is a John Coltrane song, and “A House is Not a Home” is a tip of the cap to Jackie McLean, her school’s namesake and to display her chops on a ballad, she selected Hoagy Carmichael’s vintage standard, “Stardust.” The album also included several of Hanahan’s originals. Marc Cary-piano, Nat Reeves-bass, and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums are her accompanists. An auspicious start to what promises to be a long and successful career.

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of them are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist, if it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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