After nearly two years, Okonski returns with Entrance Music — an album
that finds the trio at the height of their improvisational prowess and
celebrating the spontaneous and meditative. On the heels of 2023’s debut
Magnolia, pianist and leader Steve Okonski has reconvened long-time
musical collaborators (Durand Jones and the Indications bandmate Aaron
Frazer on drums and bassist Michael Isvara “Ish” Montgomery) for another
session in the spirit of artists like the Bad Plus, Gerald Clayton, and
The Breathing Effect. Ultimately Entrance Music serves as an invitation
to early hours, where songs linger in the doorway, announcing their
presence before returning to the air, in a meticulous drift into the
next.
Recorded over a five day session, Entrance Music was one of the first
albums committed to tape at Portage Lounge, Terry Cole’s studio in
Loveland, OH. “It was a new setup, but with Terry behind the dials it
was very familiar,” says Okonski. “I can’t emphasize enough how much
Terry feels like a fourth member [of the band] because of the space he’s
curating, the energy he is bringing, and the production ideas.” The
energy and sound created with the Colemine labelhead at the helm makes
for a listening experience equally at home with ECM or Stones Throw catalogs.
From the rippling notes of the pastoral opener, “October,” Entrance
Music is lush with anticipation, both band and listener feeling the
tension in the tranquility — where the interplay of jazz improvisation
and boom bap beats never shortchanges the musicianship but the talent is
ever in service of the song.
While the band does not play together as often as they would like, not
much time is needed for the three to lock in. Montgomery’s bass opening
to “Passing Through” bends and moves with a singular meditative grace
before piano and percussion joins the daylight filling a room with
breath and light. If Magnolia resonated with last calls and late nights,
Entrance Music counters with early mornings and first cups of coffee.
Whereas much of the debut resonates with his time in New York, Entrance
Music “feels a little less ‘on the streets at 2 A.M.’ and a little more
nature-based…a little more ethereal,” says Okonski. “It’s definitely
age, environment, and family — all of that does come through in the
music.”
Tracklist:
1. October
2. Vista
3. Lakebridge
4. Wind Or Vertigo
5. Passing Through
6. Summer Storm
7. Dahlia
8. Dusk
9. Penny