For those unaware, in some way, each and every one of us is searching for sanctuary. In certain cases, that search reflects a vital need – a home, a country, a safe haven.

For those of us fortunate to have those crucial needs met, sanctuary comes to mean something more personal and metaphorical – the embrace of loved ones, a cherished memory, a quiet space in nature.

On Sanctuary, their extraordinary second album as co-leaders, violinist Jason Anick and pianist Jason Yeager explore the vast spectrum of what the concept can mean through the medium of their own personal sanctuary – the music they create.

Due out October 11th, 2024 via Sunnyside Records, Sanctuary builds on the foundation set by the pair’s previous outing, 2017’s United. That album marked the culmination of a nearly lifelong friendship and collaboration; Anick and Yeager met for the first time at a local jam session as teens in the Boston area.

Since then, both have continued to collaborate while establishing flourishing careers as composers, performers and educators, with both serving on the faculty at Berklee College of Music.

1. Futures Past
2. Nearness of Now
3. “Raindrop” Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 in Db Major
4. Persecution
5. Ephemory
6. Lost
7. AI Apocalypse
8. Colorado
9. Farewell
10. Sanctuary

Sanctuary, which is itself a direct result of not only the personal evolution that Anick and Yeager have undergone over the last several years, but of the times in which it was created, opens on the joyous skedaddle of Futures Past and the luxurious Nearness of Now and then we are brought forth an decadent orchestral yearning found within “Raindrop” Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 in Db Major, the perky, flirtatious Persecution, and then we get the joyful soul of Ephemory.

Along next is the low slung toe-tapper Lost and the anxiously foreboding AI Apocalypse and they are in turn backed seamlessly by an aching poignancy found veined throughout Colorado, the veritably cinematic, Latin-hued Farewell rounding things off, the album closing on the wistful title track Sanctuary.

“We had two goals at the outset of this album,” Anick explains. “First, we wanted to develop a cohesive music from our shared voices by composing together. Second, we really wanted to reflect the things that were going on in the world around us. The central theme coalesced around sanctuary, because at the end of the day it’s what we’re all trying to find.”

Musicians:
Jason Anick - violin
Jason Yeager - piano
Jason Palmer - trumpet
Billy Buss - trumpet
Edmar Colón - tenor saxophone
Naseem Alatrash - cello
Greg Loughman - bass
Mike Connors - drums

Official Purchase Link