*200 copies limited edition* "This record is the crystallization of a friendship and musical partnership that started when Sonelius and I first met in 2012, when I was making my documentary on Rahsaan Roland Kirk – The Case of the Three Sided Dream. Sonelius appears only briefly in the film, and that’s mainly because of his ethereal approach to conversation, answering questions, and life, really. He doesn’t so much answer a question, rather, his responses usually generate more questions and are almost always an invitation into further exploration of the unknown. He’s never one to respond with an easy answer or soundbite. And documentary film so often demands the easy, bite-sized answer. While he appears only briefly in the film, this was the seed of what has become a very deep friendship, profound musical collaboration, and spiritual journey into what we don’t already know.
Playing with Sonelius is always an experience. Listening too. Being present. There is always an energy in the room—you feel it. It’s not just listening to music. It can be powerful. Or confusing. It can be wildly dynamic. Or flat. It can produce tears. Or puzzlement. And we can bomb. Hard. And (because Sonelius once told me he doesn’t like the word but - use and he says), every time we play, at some moment—perhaps throughout a glorious and almost flawless set, perhaps for only a few songs, perhaps only one moment in an otherwise train wreck of a night—Sonelius will play something so arresting, so different, so fresh, so unmatchable and intangible, that it stays with you long after it ends.
Sonelius (now 83) has often said to me, “I wouldn’t be playing if it weren’t for you,” to which I (well north of 50) usually reply, “My playing wouldn’t be what it is without you.” This reciprocal exchange—across generations, experiences, and perspectives—is central to our work and, we feel, essential not only to the ongoing life of the music, but to our shared passage on this earth, through time, sound, and space.
Talking with Sonelius today before our gig tonight at Barbès - what are we going to play? We’ll let you know when we find out." - Adam Kahan
