Only the Horizon
Artist: Jeff Coffin
Release Date: July 19, 2024
Catalog Number: EUR0444
Press Contact: Lydia Liebman Promotions
570.730.5297 • lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com
RELEASE DATE: 07.19.2024
PERSONNEL:
JEFF COFFIN: soprano, tenor, bari sax, electro sax, bass flute, C flute, bass clarinet, melodica, keys, tambourine, chant vocals
Drums: Carter Beauford, Keith Carlock, Daru Jones, Nate Smith, Derico Watson
Bass: Tony Hall, Viktor Krauss, Stefan Lessard, MonoNeon, Alana Rocklin, Jay White, Victor Wooten
Banjo: Béla Fleck
Keys: Jon Cowherd, Leo Genovese, Buddy Strong
Resonator Guitar: Keb’ Mo’
Trumpet: Emmanuel Echem, Rod McGaha, Rashawn Ross
Trombone: Ray Mason
Tenor Sax: Mars Williams
Soprano Sax: Bill Evans
Guitar: Nir Felder, Cory Wong
Cowbell: Ezra Kessler
Spoken Word Vocals/Lyrics: Rory ‘R.A.P.’ Ferreira
Chant Vocals: Buddy Strong, Roy ‘Futureman’ Wooten
Harmonium: Ryoko Suzuki
Spoken Word: Bob Coffin
Yeli Ensemble:
Kinkini, Djembe: Sory Diabate
Dundun, Kinkini: Agathe Moubembe
Djembe, Dundun, Kinkini, Krin, Samban: Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate
Samban, Kinkini: Mohamed ‘Dho’ Cisse
Djembe: Mohamed ‘Fassa’ Dioubate
Gullah Geechee Musicians:
Vocals: Gracie Gadsen, Joseph Murray, Rosa Murray
Vocals & Handclaps: Corinthian Doctor, Chelsea Nona Green, Shay Rollerson
Vocals, Big Drum, Tambourine, Washboard, Handclaps: Quentin E. Baxter
TRACKLIST:
01) Here We Go [8:10]
JC - electro sax, tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, bass clarinet
Daru Jones - drums
Victor Wooten - bass
Leo Genovese - fender rhodes
Rashawn Ross - trumpet melody
Rod McGaha - trumpet solo
Ibrahima ‘Ibro” Dioubate - kinkini, dundun, samban, djembe
02) Yesterday’s Dream [4:24]
JC - flute, bass flute, spoken word, electro-sax, tenor sax, bari sax, shakers
Daru Jones - drums
MonoNeon - electric bass
Leo Genovese - fender rhodes
Cory Wong - guitar
Bob Coffin - spoken word
Yeli Ensemble:
Sory Diabate - djembe
Agathe Moubembe - dundun
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - kinkini
Mohamed ‘Dho’ Cisse - samban
03) Pharoah Rise [7:32]
JC - soprano sax, flute, bass flute, chant vocal
R.A.P. Ferreira - spoken word vocals, lyrics
Daru Jones - drums
Tony Hall - bass
Leo Genovese - fender rhodes
Emmanuel Echem - trumpet
Roy Wooten - chant vocals
Buddy Strong - chant vocals
Ezra Kessler - African bell
Yeli Ensemble:
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - vocals, kinkini, dundun, samban, djembe, krin
Mohamed ‘Fassa’ Dioubate - vocals
04) A Hat For My Beard [4:49]
JC - bari sax, tenor sax, flute, bass flute, keys
Béla Fleck - banjo
Daru Jones - drums
Jay White - bass
Yeli Ensemble:
Sory Diabate - djembe
Agathe Moubembe - dundun
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - djembe
Mohamed ‘Dho’ Cisse - samban
05) Bom Bom [8:09]
JC - tenor sax, bari sax, soprano sax, flute
Keith Carlock - drums
Jay White - bass
Leo Genovese - fender rhodes
Nir Felder - guitar
Mars Williams - tenor sax (tenor solo)
Ray Mason - trombone
Emmanuel Echem - trumpet
Yeli Ensemble:
Sory Diabate - djembe & krin
Agathe Moubembe - kinkini
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - dundun
Mohamed ‘Dho’ Cisse - samban
06) Only the Horizon [7:44]
JC - tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, bass flute
Derico Watson - drums
Alana Rocklin - upright bass
Jon Cowherd - piano
Yeli Ensemble:
Sory Diabate - djembe
Agathe Moubembe - dundun
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - djembe
Mohamed ‘Dho’ Cisse - samban
07) Picking Pockets [6:49]
JC - soprano sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet
Bill Evans - soprano sax
Carter Beauford - drums
Stefan Lessard - electric bass
Buddy Strong - rhodes
Yeli Ensemble:
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - kinkini, dundun, samban
Mohamed ‘Fassa’ Dioubate - djembe
08) Yeli Geechee [7:04]
JC - tenor sax, tambourine, melodica
Keb’ Mo’ - resonator guitar
Nate Smith - drums
Viktor Krauss - upright bass
Ryoko Suzuki - harmonium
Ibrahima ‘Ibro’ Dioubate - kinkini, dundun, djembe, samban
Gullah Geechee musicians:
Gracie Gadsen, Rosa Murray, Joseph Murray - vocals
Corinthian Doctor, Chelsea Nona Green, Shay Rollerson - vocals, handclaps
Quentin E. Baxter - vocals, big drum, tambourine, washboard, handclaps
TOTAL TIME: [54:41]
All compositions by Jeff Coffin
Except track 3 "Pharoah Rise’ by Jeff Coffin & R.A.P. Ferreira
RECORDING INFO:
Produced by Jeff Coffin
Recorded @ ITA Studios Nashville (with exception of a few tracks)
Engineered by Jeff Coffin
Mixed by Rob Evans, Assisted by Ethan Bovey
Mastered by Ted Jensen @ Sterling Sound
Gullah Musicians recorded by Matt White & Elliott Elsey
Recorded on location and @ Truphonic Recording /Charleston, SC
Yeli Ensemble Overdubs
Enginneered by Brook Sutton @ The Studio Nashville / Nashville, TN
ALBUM NOTES:
From JC:
In a conversation about art and music, someone said to me, “There is only the horizon.” I thought for a long time about what they meant and I came to realize it can reference the past as well as the future - which is what I have tried to do with this recording.
The past (informing the present & future) being the traditional music and rhythms of West Africa generated by Yeli Ensemble and the Gullah Geechee which have been passed down for countless generations. The future (encompassing the past & present) being contemporary original music and rhythms played by some of the top musicians on the planet at this point in time.
Only The Horizon means to be looking down the road and bringing what you perceive and witness to your experience. Striving to reconcile but not re-create. It’s coming up with something new, inspired and informed by something old. It’s bringing the future and the past together in a holistic way that isn’t contrived or mapped out. It’s discovering something hidden. It’s new territory and it’s meant to be explored…
The common thread to me in all this is the musical dance. Dance comes in many varieties but what I’m talking about is music that moves us in a way that is conscious as well as subconscious. Music that makes you move when you don’t even realize you’re moving. Music that gets inside of your bones and memory and moves you in an emotional, physical, and spiritual sense.
My vision for this recording was to explore the way West African rhythms could co-exist with the music I was currently writing. I chose the players very specifically for certain tunes and all of them brought high art to the table. There are too many highlights to list fully here but a few from my studio really stick out…Having the great Daru Jones on drums and hearing his groove and pocket up close. Truly an awe-inspiring musician! To witness Keb’ Mo’ carve his guitar parts from thin air in a way I have never witnessed before was at once befuddling and stunning. To have my dear friend Mars Williams lay down a tenor sax solo in what was one of his last recordings was such a gift. To hear Yeli Ensemble bring their magic time and again and in particular, percussionist Ibro Dioubate, was a dream come true - their comprehension and initiation of time and rhythm is done in a way that is quite unique in comparison to how I learned about rhythm and time, but there is deep common ground!
To witness what Matt White and Quentin Baxter brought from the Gullah Geechee culture in Charleston, SC, was amazing on every level and made deeper a track that was already, at once, earthbound and in the sky.
And to the rest of the musicians on this recording…Carter Beauford, Keith Carlock, Nate Smith, Derico Watson, Tony Hall, Viktor Krauss, Stefan Lessard, MonoNeon, Alana Rocklin, Jay White, Victor Wooten, Bela Fleck, Jon Cowherd, Leo Genovese, Buddy Strong, Emmanuel Echem, Rod McGaha, Rashawn Ross, Ray Mason, Bill Evans, Nir Felder, Cory Wong, Ezra Kessler, Rory ‘R.A.P.' Ferreira, Mars Williams, Roy ‘Futureman’ Wooten, Ryoko Suzuki, Bob Coffin - you all fill my heart and I am eternally grateful…
What incredible gifts we all share. There is deep love, profound gratitude, and old and new friendships in these recordings. This is the most time I have spent, and the most fun I have had, making a solo record and I think it’s the best music I’ve ever made! Thank you for listening…
jeff coffin / 2024
