There is a harmonious convergence of exceptional Chicago talent on Our Heroes, the latest collaborative project from AFAR Music, due out on September 8th, 2023.

Featuring saxophonist Geof Bradfield, pianist Richard D. Johnson, bassist John Tate and drummer Samuel Jewell, Our Heroes pays tribute to a selection of adored musical idols through a collection of nine heartfelt and soul-stirring original compositions.

Our Heroes is the latest in a series of themed collaborative projects under the direction of pianist and label founder, Richard D. Johnson. Previous releases featured two instrument-specific supergroups: Altoizm (2021) with alto saxophone wizzes Sharel Cassity, Greg Ward and Rajiv Halim, and Tenor Time (2022) featuring tenor saxophone masters John Wojciechowski, Geof Bradfield, and Scott Burn.

Rounding out the trilogy is Our Heroes, on which the focus shifts to something more conceptual: honoring musical legends that have left a lasting impact on these jazz all-stars, and extending their lineage of mentorship. “Speaking as a musician and educator, I think it’s important for the students of this music to realize that their mentors have heroes too,” Johnson says.

1. Corea (Johnson)
2. Loved Ones (Johnson)
3. Some Other Sunday (Bradfield)
4. Caution (Johnson)
5. High & Low (Johnson)
6. Blues For Stanley Cowell (Bradfield)
7. Aspartame (Tate)
8. Peaceful Giant (Tate)
9. The Cruelest Month (Bradfield)

This magnificently hued, heartfelt and genuinely impassioned new recording opens on the sparkling Corea (written, of course, for the great Chick Corea) and the late night, smokey club ambiance of Loved Ones (inspired by the great Percy Heath), and then we are brought forth the thoughtfully sculpted balladry of the gospel-tinged Some Other Sunday (inspired by Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday”), and then comes the ardent finger-snapper Caution (a nod to Benny Green).

Next up is one of my own personal favorites here, the Pink Panther-esque High & Low (written for saxophone masters Phil Woods, Jackie McLean and Jimmy Heath), and that is itself backed by the upbeat and perky Blues For Stanley Cowell (dedicated to the often overlooked pianist-composer), the upright bass-fed Aspartame (influenced by saxophone giants Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson), the album rounding out on the lonesome ode found within Peaceful Giant (written for the great Ron Carter), concluding on the spirited The Cruelest Month (which itself borrows its title from T.S. Elliot’s masterpiece “The Waste Land”).

To bring his concept to life, Johnson enlisted three Chicago heavy-weights in Bradfield, Tate and Jewell. Bringing musicians together is Johnson’s specialty, and Our Heroes continues the AFAR Music tradition of combining great musicians in new contexts.

While the ensemble had played together in different configurations prior, the recording of Our Heroes is the first time they’ve all played as a unit. Bradfield and Tate added a cadre of compositions each dedicated to a musical hero to Johnson’s four, and before they knew it, they had a record.

www.geofbradfield.com