JAVIER NERO JAZZ ORCHESTRA
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ALKEBULAN
1. Alkebulan - 8:09
2. Make it So - 11:22
3. Radiant Flower (Zara) - 5:24
4. Ayla - 5:50
5. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise - 7:54
6. Devil May Care - 5:04
7. The Fourth Dimension - 7:28
8. Tesseract - 7:44
9. Seminole - 5:42
BONUS TRACKS
*Holiday Waltz - 7:15
*Lawns - 5:29
JAVIER NERO JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Special Guest Artists:
Randy Brecker (2)
Sean Jones Trumpet/Flugelhorn (1, 4, 9)
Warren Wolf- Vibraphone (1, 5, 7, 8, 9)
Veronica Swift - Voice (1, 5)
Nicole Zuraitis - Voice (6)
Shawn Purcell Guitar (2)
Nate Skinner- Mallet Station (8)
The Jazz
Orchestra:
All music composed and arranged by Dr. Javier Nero (ASCAP)
except Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise,(Sigmund Romberg Arr. Nero)
Devil May Care, (Bob Dorough Arr. Nero) and Lawns (Carla Bley Arr. Nero)
Woodwinds
Daniel Andrews - Alto/Soprano Saxophone
Daniel Dickinson - Alto/Soprano Saxophone/Flute/Clarinet
Xavier Perez - Tenor Saxophone
Clay Pritchard - Tenor Saxophone (2, 8)
Lucas Pino - Tenor Saxophone
Dustin Mollick - Baritone Saxophone/Bass Clarinet
Trumpets
Josh Kauffman -Lead
Chris Burbank - Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Graham Breedlove - Trumpet/Flugelhorn (2, 8)
Ken McGee - Trumpet/Flugelhorn (2, 8)
Noah Hocker - Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Alec Aldred - Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Sean Jones - Trumpet/Flugelhorn (1, 4, 9)
Trombones
Javier Nero - Lead Trombone
Luke Brimhall - Trombone
Aaron Eckert - Trombone
Jake Kraft - Bass trombone, Tuba (8)
Rhythm section
Adam Moezinia -Guitar
Michael Kramer-Guitar (2, 8)
James Collins - Piano (2, 8)
Alex Brown - Piano
Kyle Swan - Drum Set
Regan Brough - Acoustic and Electric Bass
Auxiliary
Kyle Athayde - Vibraphone (2)
Javier Nero- Vocals (2)
Danielle Wertz- Voice (2)
Murph Aucamp - Percussion (1, 2, 7, 9)
Fran Vielma - Percussion (2)
Recording Engineer- Tom Tyra, Bob Dawson (2, 8)
Audio editing- Rich Sigler
Mixing and Mastering- David Darlington (Bass Hit Studios NY)
Recorded at Bias Studios Springfield, VA January 2nd, 2025
Produced by Javier Nero and Rich Sigler
Video by Tim Perry and Alex Weitz, (2, 8)
Addition footage and editing by Andrew Bohman
Photos by Matt Baker and Sonia Dell ‘Omo
“All music, but particularly jazz is the ultimate example of the beauty that can be created by learning from and appreciating disparate cultures. Jazz is the ultimate expression of freedom.”
– Javier Nero
ALKEBULAN |
ALBUM STORY
“Alkebulan” is one of the oldest native words to describe the continent of Africa. It has a connotation of “Mother of Mankind” and “Garden of Eden”. It is the subject of a lot of scholarly debate, but the central meaning points to a picture of Africa’s rich history and culture outside of the typical euro-centric and colonial lens. This vision of an advanced ancient society where much of the knowledge is still lost or misunderstood to this day, continues to invigorate my imagination as an artist. Music is transcendent, sublime, and abstract, existing simultaneously outside and inside of culture, language, politics, and religion. It speaks to something deeper and universal inside all of us. Using this vision of Alkebulan and my own ancestry through the African Diaspora as a focal point, I’ve been able to reach into an endless well of new melodies, rhythms, and textures that I hope will also speak to you. After all, we are all ultimately from one human family originating from Alkebulan.