For those not in the know, pianist, vocalist, and composer Dawn Clement is a joyful and formidable force in the landscape of modern creative music.

For over two decades, Clement has served as both a torchbearer of the jazz tradition and as a trailblazer in fresh sonic explorations. “In all this world of jazz, there are very few individual voices, no matter what the instrument, but Dawn has come up with a voice that’s unique…” says legendary jazz trombonist Julian Priester.

Clement’s original music is an expansive collection that features her distinctive musical voice in a variety of genres, styles, and settings. Her six albums as a leader showcase her impressive range from master of the jazz piano trio style, to avant garde improviser, to an expressive songwriter and vocalist effortlessly incorporating indie and alternative influences.

And the brand new recording from Dawn Clement and both Jon Hamar and Steve Kovalcheck, the self-titled Clement/Kovalcheck/Hamar, is due out this September.

1. Blind
2. Spirit Spin
3. Lazy Dragon
4. Paseo Del Mar
5. Hard Ball
6. Clarity
7. It’s About Time
8. The Meadow is an Ocean
9. Tomorrow Island
10. For Now
11. Tree Hugger

This dutifully elegant new recording opens on the flourishing Blind and the veritably glistening Spirit Spin, and then we get my personal favorite, the sheer elegance of Lazy Dragon, the playful Paseo Del Mar and then we are brought forth the scintillating Hard Ball.

Along next is the demure Clarity and some beautiful dancefloor swirls and twirls of It’s About Time and they are in turn backed by the languishing The Meadow is an Ocean, the impassioned finger-snapper Tomorrow Island, the album rounding out on the intricately-sculpted For Now, closing on a vibrant melodic sheen that embodies Tree Hugger.