For those unaware, saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon, one of the most compelling voices in contemporary jazz, presents Someone to Someone — a heartfelt new release from his label, Irabbagast Records, available August 15th, 2025.

Featuring his newly formed quartet PlainsPeak, the album reunites him with longtime friends and fellow musical innovators from the Midwest.

Widely celebrated for his genre-defying sound and described by PopMatters as “ripe and rowdy, burnished, tender all at the right moments,” Irabagon once again showcases his versatility—this time through a back-to-basics, acoustic approach.

Following the adventurous, tech-forward Server Farm, Someone to Someone offers a more intimate sound with trumpeter Russ Johnson, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Dana Hall.

Each member shares a deep history with Irabagon: Johnson played on his 2008 debut, Sommers accompanied his first-ever public performance in high school, and Hall was already a mentor figure during Irabagon’s undergrad years at DePaul University in Chicago.

1. Someone to Someone
2. Buggin’ the Bug
3. Malört Is My Shepherd
4. At What Price Garlic
5. Tiny Miracles (at a Funeral for a Friend)
6. The Pulseman

Irabagon — Filipino-American, Thelonious Monk Competition winner, and recipient of both DownBeat honors and the Philippine Presidential Award — opens his new recording on the beautifully-sculpted ballad Someone to Someone and then brings us the strongly rhythmed Buggin’ the Bug, and they are in turned backed by the resonant Malört Is My Shepherd (a reference to Chicago’s infamous wormwood liquor Jeppson’s Malört), and the melodically grooved At What Price Garlic, the set rounding out on the intensely all encompassing Tiny Miracles (at a Funeral for a Friend), coming to an all too soon close on the playfully ordained The Pulseman (a percussive tribute to drummers everywhere).

Musicians:
Jon Irabagon - alto saxophone
Russ Johnson - trumpet
Clark Sommers - acoustic bass
Dana Hall - drums

www.jonirabagon.com

Jon Irabagon @ Facebook