Root Causes (featuring Eri Yamamoto and William Parker)

I have had the great good fortune to be part of an ensemble we called Sparks with Eri, William and reedist Chad Fowler. The interludes where Chad laid out, leaving just what might loosely be called the rhythm section playing, were always intriguing to me, and demanded further exploration as its own thing. We got our opportunity to do that right before Sparks set out on tour, the day after a performance in NYC. We went into the studio, Jim hit the red button, and we got to work. It was a lovely afternoon, and as I write this over a year later while listening back, on the 1st day of the returning sun, my gratitude to these wonderful humans and musicians is deep. These pieces are presented exactly as we created them, no messing about, and we offer them to you in the hope that you might be touched by what they offer.
-Steve Hirsh, the day after winter solstice, 2024.