November Lake from Forward by Chad McCullough

My family and I take walks to Lake Michigan quite often. We're lucky to be close to such natural beauty in Chicago, and I'm always fascinated by the shifting color of the water and the sky. One particular walk in November the lake was a deep slate blue and I thought it'd be a good title for a tune. I love titles that invoke some sort of moment and color, without actually telling the listener exactly what those are. The composition itself was inspired partially by some of the early-70's Charles Tolliver tunes, and some of Avishai Cohen's trumpet trio writing (two of about a million heroes of mine who play trumpet). I tried to keep it simple, to focus on the improvisation, and the band did not disappoint. This was the first take of the first tune in the studio on the day we recorded. I think Rob's solo is just perfect, and the way the band interacts with him from the first note is that one-brain kind of playing that makes it so appealing to play with the three of them.

Downbeat praised McCullough for his "stunning, chilled lyricism, and compositional acuity"

The Chicago trumpeter is active around the world, and has released 15 albums as a leader or co-leader. He has composed for film, documentaries, chamber orchestra, rock bands, and modern dance. He co-owns Calligram Records. McCullough plays AR Resonance instruments and mouthpieces.

chadmccullough.com
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