Illegal Crowns

Unclosing by Illegal Crowns, a collective quartet that brings together the long-time collaborative trio of guitarist Mary Halvorson, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, with the French pianist Benoit Delbecq. All four artists are critically recognized as leading figures in contemporary music, and being a true collective (much like Halvorson and Fujiwara have in Thumbscrew with bassist Michael Formanek) each has contributed original compositions written specifically for the group.

Featuring three compositions each by Halvorson, Fujiwara, and Delbecq, Unclosing is an exquisite example of modern jazz composition, and all of these four singular improvisers are given ample room to express their wholly unique approach. The recording process for Unclosing, dictated by the collective members living in separate cities, ensured that the compositions still felt fresh to the band when they documented this brand new book of music.

Illegal Crowns rehearsed for two days in NYC, embarked on a five city tour immediately after (which proved to be ample time for these compositions to fully blossom), then recorded all 9 tracks in a single day at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, CT. Quite simply put, this is a band that trusts each other musically and supports one another through every unexpected turn. Unclosing features four of the world's foremost improvisers at the top of their game, and puts on full display the time Illegal Crowns have spent developing their collective language and approach as an ensemble.

Tomas Fujiwara - drums
Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, flugelhorn
Mary Halvorson - guitar
Benoît Delbecq - piano