Skip to main content
Mid 2020 our Free Wind alto #013 can be heard in the very capable hands of Will Vinson on a beautiful release of the OWL Trio featuring Grammy award-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling.

“Kurt first heard the OWL Trio (Orlando le Fleming, Will Vinson and Lage Lund) at a little club in Brooklyn called “Seeds.” One of only a handful of people in the audience, he was blown away by the “sensitivity and intelligence” of the group. In dark times, a sensitive approach can be liberating. Creating a moment to come together in darkness can provide a sense of comfort—we are all sharing in a similar experience. “

These lines from Kurt’s recent bio really spoke to me: “The approach of jazz itself is a form of protest. The collegiality, the mutual support, the democratic; everybody gets a say and if you take a single member out there’s an essential ingredient missing. It’s not a complete community until everybody’s in their right and mutually supportive place.”

The listener can hear in this intimate album the same ambience and intellectual curiosity that appealed to Kurt in that small Brooklyn club. In this drumless and pristine supportive context, Kurt, by his own admission has “nowhere to hide.” In this music, a “whisper will carry instead of a shout” and Kurt doesn’t need to blazingly proclaim his intentions—he can simply let them glow.”

— Elan Mehler, Newvelle Artistic Director and Co-Founder
https://www.newvelle-records.com/