For those unaware, Sam Pilnick is a saxophonist, composer and arranger known for his boundary-pushing collection of original compositions and reimagined works that highlight the artist’s evolving voice and the dynamic synergy of their ensemble, Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project.

With a sound that blends big band jazz, modern jazz and rock and roll, Sam Pilnick has performed and recorded with his nine-piece ensemble Sam Pilnick’s Nonet Project. Indeed, the Nonet Project has been featured global publications, with Downbeat Magazine giving the composer/arranger/saxophonist his four-star review!

Their brand new album is entitled The Project (due out November 7th, 2025 via Symphonic Records) and draws from the swing tradition, ECM-inspired modernism and rock-rooted grooves that he has himself been known to dabble in throughout his storied career.

Furthermore, this record perfectly captures Pilnick’s multifaceted musical voice through six vibrant tracks with each composition serving as a snapshot of his evolution as a writer and improviser.

1. 60657 [9:06]
2. Southbound Trail [7:33]
3. Life Is [6:54]
4. Neon [6:10]
5. Pannonica [7:45]
6. Fight club is a bad movie [8:54]

The Chicago-based Jazz collective opens on the languishing beauty that drives the organic 60657 and the gently-cultivated hipsway of Southbound Trail, and then we get brought forth the rhythmically motivated Life Is, the propulsively sculpted John Mayer cut Neon, the set rounding out on the veritably shimmering magnificence of Thelonious Monk’s Pannonica, coming to an all too soon close on the ornately emboldened, interestingly titled fight club is a bad movie.

Musicians:
Sam Pilnick: Tenor Saxophone, Composer/Arranger
Natalie Lande: Alto Saxophone
Ted Hogarth: Baritone Saxophone
Emily Kuhn: Trumpet
Andrew Meyer: Trombone
Andrew Sudhibhasilp: Guitar
Grayson Nye: Piano and Keyboard
Mary Halm: Upright and Electric Basses
Ethan Bouwsma: Drums

Official Purchase Link