I am thrilled to announce that my latest album, Vonology, will be released April 15 on ears&eyes Records on vinyl, CD, and digital download through Bandcamp. Vonology is a five-movement suite of compositions that I wrote to explore the artistic, spiritual, and astrological dimensions of Von Freeman’s music and life. I wrote this work as an artistic companion piece to my University of Chicago dissertation, “’Will You Still Be Mine?’: Memory, Place, Race and Jazz on Chicago’s South Side,” which examines the history of segregation and jazz in Chicago, with Von’s New Apartment Lounge jam session as a central case study. Anyone who purchases the album from Bandcamp will also get a digital copy of this dissertation. I will also be launching a new website on April 15, vonology.info, that will further explain my compositional process and what the music represents, as well as updates of my research on Von Freeman, George Freeman, and the South Side jazz scene. You can read more about Vonology here.

I will be presenting an album release show at Constellation on Friday, May 27, 8:30pm. Please mark your calendars! I’ll have more info soon!

This album was years in the making. I am sincerely grateful for the contributions of the musicians who performed on this album, a list of some of Chicago’s best performers and improvisers: 

Mike Allemana, guitar and compositions

Victor Garcia, trumpet and flugelhorn

Greg Ward, alto saxophone

Geof Bradfield, tenor saxophone

Kendall Moore, trombone

Tomeka Reid, cello

Matt Ferguson, acoustic bass

Michael Raynor, drums

Brian Allemana, conductor and astrological texts on “The Mentor’s Benediction”

Voices:

Sue Demel, soprano

Gabriela Allemana, soprano and alto

Lindsay Weinberg, alto and vocal melody on “The Mentor’s Benediction”

Austin Burgett, tenor

Alton Smith, tenor

Angel Rodriguez, bass

Bill Brickey, bass and readings on “The Mentor’s Benediction”