Alex Lore Finds Inspiration in James Joyce & Bunky Green on 'Evening Will Find Itself (Whirlwind)'

Not unlike James Joyce's Ulysses, which gifted the line that titled this album, Alex LoRe's Evening Will Find Itself flourishes under the light of careful consideration, experimental construction and stream-of-consciousness language.

An odyssey tied to the saxophonist-composer's own experiences and those that he shares with the wider world, its conception and creation proved to be both points of departure and acts of arrival for this rising star:

"I really wanted to trust my instincts, stretch and try some different things that made me a bit uncomfortable, primarily to push myself into different territories," he explains. That effort - "a look at what we've been experiencing, and trying to configure and make sense of it all through music" - affirms LoRe's commitment to creativity at the highest levels.

Leading Weirdear - an ensemble of incredible means featuring pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Desmond White and drummer Allan Mednard - LoRe brilliantly blurs the lines between composition and improvisation. Opener "Stripes," envisioning vertical black and white lines that "represent the rigidity that is currently consuming our culture," plays to that ideal with a focus on (dis)placement.

And "Face Unseen," offering bleak beauty, does so while acting as a threnody for connectedness and a lucid statement about tech-fueled social chasms. "It's like false fulfillment," LoRe explains. "We're 'connected' to everybody more than ever. But at the same time, the image we craft for ourselves in this other reality, this digital reality, doesn't seem to fulfill the need we have for actual, genuine human connections and friendships and relationships."

"Fauxlosophy" - a term coined in conversation between LoRe and pianist Matt Mitchell - speaks to those entrenched in or swayed to adopt viewpoints that may not line up with their beliefs. "It's that concept of pretending to believe in something or convincing yourself that you do, especially when [prodded by] stronger personalities" shares LoRe.

An animated and angular number, it's one of several influenced by Mitchell's expansive compositional vision. "I was trying to take direction from Matt's work, where he'll use very specific written piano voicings and then juxtapose different rhythmic figures and/or a different melody against them so there are multiple layers happening at the same time."

A title-aligned triptych spread across the program also falls into the Mitchell-minded category. "Radiance I," a labyrinthine look at light's movement within dense surroundings, offers a knotty display of musical kinship. "Radiance II," addressing phone-scroll obsession and mechanical movements, deals in dizzying repetition and the urge to break free. And "Radiance III," with its 15-bar form and maze-like mentality, presents complications and their eventual (re)solution.

LoRe finds another outlet for invention through soft-focus phrasing and loose-flowing melodic tides on "Silent Ship" and "At Shore." And looking past the broad thinking that guides this entire matrix of creativity, he addresses the impact of the individual on "Green" and "Underground and Back."

The latter, with a "chorale-type melody which oscillates unpredictably," reflects on LoRe's father's health struggles (i.e. COVID-19, pneumonia, heart failure) and the emotional rollercoaster those near-death experiences created. And the former honors noted saxophonist-educator Bunky Green, who mentored LoRe and planted the seed that it's important to "find the beauty in everything you do." Nodding to that jazz icon's "Seashells" in structure and substance, the leader pays tribute with heat and heart.

Though the album is comprised entirely of original material, LoRe's arrangement of Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya" will serve as a standalone, lead-off single. Recontoured with a metric facelift and countermelodies, among other personal touches, it makes for the perfect blend of tradition and innovation to pave the way for this project.

Having already received heavy praise for 2013's trio-centric Dream House and 2016's quartet-focused More Figs and Blue Things, found new purpose in syncretizing Eurocentric and Black American musical elements on 2019's Karol, done groundbreaking work transcribing and arranging J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations for saxophones, and made his mark working alongside pioneering peers (i.e. multi-reedist Lucas Pino, vibraphonist Yuhan Su, pianist Marta Sanchez, his Kind Folk collective mates), Alex LoRe stands poised and ready to push boundaries with Evening Will Find Itself.

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