Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
(September 2009) – One Day in Brooklyn (CD, Digital)
(April 2010) – Sensation of Seeing Light (7″ Vinyl)
(June 2010) – Stay Gold (CD, double 12″ Vinyl, Digital)
(August 2011) – The Race Riot Suite (CD, 12″ Vinyl, Digital)
JFJO Reissues:
(1995 – reissued Feb. 2011) – Live at the Lincoln Continental
(1996 – reissued Feb. 2011) – Live in Tokyo
(2002 – reissued Feb. 2011) – Al
l is One: Live in New York City
Kinnara Records released Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey’s 19th album and latest EP ‘One Day in Brooklyn’ as the labels first album on September 1st, 2009. The EP marked the debut of the new quartet lineup in the studio settingas well as the first release on JFJO’s new record label, Kinnara Records, which is distributed by Sony Red/MRI. The new quartet lineup, album, and tour have received rave reviews from Billboard and Downbeat to the New York Times and the LA Weekly.
2010 found Kinnara releasing JFJO’s The Sensation of Seeing light, a 7″ vinyl single, for Record Store Day in April. In June of 2010 Kinnara released JFJO’s full length LP “Stay Gold” on both CD & double 12″ vinyl to an incredible reviews from press and fans alike. JazzTimes says “The four specialize in a new – to JFJO, at least – type of jazz-rooted fusion, a sprawling, rambling instrumental Americana hinting at everything from Texas swing to psychedelic rock to the dynamic compositions of the Brian Blade Fellowship. Ambitious, unsettling, unclassifiable.”
Other press samples:
“…the soaring melodies of keyboardist Brian Haas remain front and center, with the rest of the band offering eloquent accompaniment and robust grooves and beats. Stay Gold is another compelling chapter in the storied history of JFJO.” -Alarm Magazine
“Melding their formidable chops and improvisational instincts with a flair for mercurial morphing, the JFJO are an ideal jazz force for the Blackberry generation.” -Jazz and Blues Report
“…it’s here, between Coltrane and Yeasayer, Mingus and Animal Collective, and the very real sense of adventure, that JFJO truly find their stride, and Stay Gold, shines awfully bright.” -Jambands.com
In January 2011 JFJO recorded a suite of music based on the Tulsa Race Riots, some of the deadliest and most destructive in US history. Tentatively titled The Race Riot Suite, the music was written by Chris Combs for the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey quartet (Brian Haas piano, Chris Combs lap steel, Josh Raymer drums, Jeff Harshbarger bass) plus horn quintet. The band recorded the piece at Tulsa’s hallowed Church Studio with guest horn players Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Dave Matthews Band), Steven Bernstein (S*x Mob, Levon Helm), Peter Apfelbaum (Hieroglyphics, Don Cherry), Mark Southerland (S***f Jazz), & Matt Leland (former JFJO member). In 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to the most powerful and affluent African-American community in the country. In one of the largest racial conflicts and cover-ups in America’s history “Black Wall Street” was burned to the ground. The Race Riot Suite is a long form musical work that tells the story of the evolution & destruction of one of America’s greatest cultural epicenters in one of the least understood atrocities of the Jim Crow era. The Suite serves as vehicle for insight & reflection on the event itself, as well as a tool for understanding the ways in which these issues continue to pervade our modern day culture and society. Click here for more information on the suite as well as the 1921 riot. The project will often be on tour along with a slide show displaying images of Tulsa before, during, and after this event. JFJO plans to release the album through Kinnara in late August 2011.
