Graham Richards and Dan Duval - Indian Summer (2014)

Co-leader Graham Richards has played a key role in the production and programming of the album. This is his first record as a leader, and his playing and writing are featured here to great effect. He contributed the following thoughts on the concept of the name and the album.
‘Indian summer’ is a name for the period after the ground has frosted and the summer crops have died, but the sun shines defiantly in the sky for a ‘second summer.’ The concept for this album, in short, is that we all live in this brief period of grace. Winter is already upon us, but for now the sun shines. The title "Indian Summer" is not chosen lightly. My motivation for using it refers to the following:

1) my favorite time of year (note: bonus-summer, not pretend-summer)
2) the ‘grace’ period of our lifetime (In-dios, in God, etc.)
3) the mourning of loss, the end of era, the cycle of life and death, the changing of seasons as perceived by those who live with the land.
4) an acknowledgement that great harm was done to our Native brothers and sisters and their tribes. It is the story of the end of a culture, the end of all things, and this music is mournful and nostalgic for the last of summer before the long cold winter set in forever. ‘Indian Summer’ does not refer to stereotypes ascribed to a people; rather, it is a metaphor for our communal sense of ‘borrowed time’.

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PJCE Records is a grassroots recording label documenting the wide variety of original music being created by Portland area jazz composers and improvisers. We aim to provide an outlet to encourage the dissemination of new music in the area as well as fostering community within the jazz and improvised music scene in Portland. We release one album per month digitally and in limited CD pressings. The albums are recorded live in one session per album, reflecting a common practice from jazz history and encouraging a rapid turnaround to document and enhance the thriving community of jazz and improvising musicians in the Portland area. The label is operated by the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble and all rights to the music remain with the individual artists.

Graham Richards - piano
Dan Duval - guitar
Bill Athens - bass
Stephen Pancerev - drums

with
Justin Kagan - cello
Dave Richards - trumpet, flugel, trombone, piccolo trumpet, recorder