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Adam Shead, Jason Stein, Damon Smith
Five Nights in the Midwest (3CD)
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*100 copies limited edition* Five Nights in the Midwest is a new three-CD release from the improvising trio of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, double bassist Damon Smith, and drummer Adam Shead. Recorded during a December 2025 tour across the American Midwest, the album presents seven extended performances exactly as they occurred—without edits or cuts—allowing listeners to experience the full arc of the tour as it unfolded night by night. The December 2025 run marked the trio’s first tour since 2022, following their widely praised recordings with NEA Jazz Master and pianist Marilyn Crispell. That collaboration drew renewed attention to the trio’s distinctive language of long-form collective improvisation. Five Nights in the Midwest finds Stein, Smith, and Shead returning to their core formation with sharpened focus and an expanded sonic palette.
At the center of the ensemble’s sound is Stein’s bass clarinet, defined by a deeply physical engagement with the instrument and a wide, expressive timbral range. His playing sustains narrative across extended durations, balancing raw intensity with structural clarity. Stein shapes improvisations that unfold patiently and deliberately, grounded in the immediacy of breath, gesture, and the instrument’s full sonic potential. Smith and Shead complete the trio with a rhythm section marked by elasticity, precision, and acute responsiveness to subtle shifts in time, texture, and density. Their interplay moves fluidly between propulsion and suspension, creating an environment in which form emerges organically through attentive listening and shared momentum.
Rather than presenting isolated highlights, the album preserves the continuity of the tour itself. The result is both a travelogue of sound and a portrait of a working ensemble evolving in real time across five nights in the Midwest. Five Nights in the Midwest stands as the most comprehensive document yet of Stein, Smith, and Shead’s collaborative practice—an immersive listening experience that invites audiences into the unfolding architecture of collective improvisation.
At the center of the ensemble’s sound is Stein’s bass clarinet, defined by a deeply physical engagement with the instrument and a wide, expressive timbral range. His playing sustains narrative across extended durations, balancing raw intensity with structural clarity. Stein shapes improvisations that unfold patiently and deliberately, grounded in the immediacy of breath, gesture, and the instrument’s full sonic potential. Smith and Shead complete the trio with a rhythm section marked by elasticity, precision, and acute responsiveness to subtle shifts in time, texture, and density. Their interplay moves fluidly between propulsion and suspension, creating an environment in which form emerges organically through attentive listening and shared momentum.
Rather than presenting isolated highlights, the album preserves the continuity of the tour itself. The result is both a travelogue of sound and a portrait of a working ensemble evolving in real time across five nights in the Midwest. Five Nights in the Midwest stands as the most comprehensive document yet of Stein, Smith, and Shead’s collaborative practice—an immersive listening experience that invites audiences into the unfolding architecture of collective improvisation.
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