Photo: Shannon Marks
Chicago drummer and composer Jeremy Cunningham has announced the release of Passing Fires, his first solo album since 2020’s moving tribute to his brother, The Weather Up There. The new record finds Cunningham continuing to explore the deeply collaborative approach that has defined much of his work, bringing together a stellar cast of musicians from the Chicago and LA jazz scenes, including Jeff Parker, Josh Johnson, Lia Kohl, Makaya McCraven, Lia Kohl, Greg Uhlmann, Matt Gold, Will Miller and others. Produced by Cunningham alongside Paul Bryan and Josh Johnson, Passing Fires grew from intimate piano sketches, home recordings and studio sessions. Across the album, Cunningham’s drumming provides a common thread as the music moves through hypnotic grooves, psychedelic textures and more intimate moments.
The beautiful and poignant ‘Some Days’, a track that sprouted from a piano sketch recorded at home while reflecting on the loss of his father during Covid, served as the first wonderful taste from the album. Cunningham has recently shared ‘Windows’, a piece that emerged from an improvised session at his house with Will Miller of Resavoir. He shares:
“Windows started as a beautiful moment in an improvised recording session at my house with Will Miller (Resavoir.) We were messing around with one of Mikel Avery’s fantastic pedals, and Will stumbled upon this lovely broken up texture. We deliberately let the bass drum take care of the low end without any added bass, and then passed off the song to Josh Johnson, who edited the form and added all kinds of magical textures to help frame the core material. When I think about what I wanted this album to be, it was always about collaborating with the people that helped shape my musical identity and the friends that showed up for me at a tough time. I was always hoping the music in the end would sound warm, honest and human, and that it would reflect the dreams I feel are possible when people come together.”
Passing Fires will see the light of day on October 2nd through Northern Spy Records. Now listen to ‘Some Days’ and ‘Windows’ below.
