Gifted and genre-defying bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry has announced the release of Five Prayers, their intimate new album. Marking a shift from the ecstatic energy of free jazz into more meditative terrain, the record finds space in ambient gospel, experimental jazz, and layered electronics, guided throughout by Guidry’s electronically manipulated and emotionally charged bassoon. Exploring themes of vulnerability, healing, and identity, particularly through the lens of living with Bipolar II disorder, Five Prayers reflects a year of mental health challenges and spiritual rediscovery.​ “I began to pray in new ways,” they share. “These prayers came in the form of sonic meditations and poetry. They embraced more silence and solitude.”

Preceding the album release on May 16th through their own Jaid Records, Guidry has shared the first single, ‘Hold and Be Held’, a delicate and moving track inspired by Nikki Giovanni’s poem This World Is Not A Pleasant Place To Be. Take a listen now.