For those unaware, Circle 9 is delighted to announce the release of Makram, the latest album from vibraphonist Joe Locke, out February 17th, 2023.

Featuring a selection of new compositions and a return to his celebrated quartet (pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Lorin Cohen, and drummer Samvel Sarkisyan) Makram is the latest addition to Locke�s extensive leader discography, an album that incorporates soul, swing and world-music influences, synthesized into Locke�s inimitable style.

1. Love for Sale (7:04)
2. Raise Heaven (7:35)
3. Makram (7:31)
4. Elegy for Us All (3:41)
5. Tushkin (6:45)
6. Shifting Moon (9:06)
7. Song for Vic Juris (7:57)
8. Interwoven Hues (7:35)
9. Lush Life (5:00)

This free flowing and veritably glistening album, named after the talented Lebanese bassist Makram Aboul Hosn, opens with an uptempo, quite fervent arrangement of Cole Porter�s Love for Sale and a dulcetly soulful, lyrical homage to the late Roy Hargrove, Raise Heaven and then along comes my favorite of all the tracks, the addictive blues and Middle-Eastern melodies entwined within the titular Makram, and the deeply ensconced rhythms that make up the doleful Elegy for Us All thereafter.

Up next is a track penned in honor of his grandfather, the emotive Tushkin (and which also features the gifted multi-instrumentalist Tim Garland on soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and flute), and the frenetically melodic, at times, even barrelling, near ten minute magnificence of Shifting Moon and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the sheer balladry gossamer of Song for Vic Juris (where guitarist, former collaborator, and friend Vic Juris is lovingly remembered by Jim Ridl), the recording rounding out with Lorin Cohen�s upbeat and perky Interwoven Hues, closing on a Locke solo on Billy Strayhorn�s Lush Life.

Joe Locke has always been known for his immense stylistic versatility and ability to connect. His diverse approach was honed by performances over the years with such notable musicians as Grover Washington Jr, Raul Mid�n, Kenny Barron, Eddie Henderson, Cecil Taylor, Dianne Reeves, Eddie Palmieri, Ron Carter, Bob Berg, The Beastie Boys, the M�nster Symphony Orchestra, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the Orchestra da Camera della Sardegna and the Lincoln, Nebraska Symphony.

After decades as one of the most impactful vibraphonists in jazz, with countless awards, critically acclaimed albums, and a remarkably diverse array of musical associations to his credit, he is still expanding his artistic scope.

His new release Makram is a recording glistening with the spirit, ingenuity, musicianship and inquisitiveness of an artist joyously embracing kinship as the foundation for making music entirely on his own terms.

Locke�s quartet with Ridl, Cohen, and Sarkisyan is a unique musical fraternity, a group perfectly suited to the quality of compositions that make this recording so special.

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