Juno award nominee for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo, Zoetrope features guitarist/composer Jim Head alongside New York modern jazz heavyweights John O'Gallagher on alto saxophone (The Anton Webern Project, Joe Henderson Big Band), bassist Johannes Weidenmueller (Kenny Werner Trio), Juno award nominated drummer Owen Howard (Drum Lore, Benedikt Jahnel Trio), and acclaimed Canadian pianist Chris Andrew (2013 Montreal TD Grand Prize winner).
Recorded in New York at renowned Systems Two Studios, Zoetrope showcases Head's richly detailed, lush, unpredictable, and adventurously melodic compositions. In a decided move away from the guitar-centric writing style that characterizes much jazz guitar music, Head’s compositions explore the possibilities of the ensemble as a whole. While building on influences like masters Lennie Tristano and Wayne Shorter, contemporaries such as Aaron Parks, Mark Turner, and Jonathon Kreisberg, and classical composers including Bartok and Brahms, Head has forged a style and sound that is forward looking and distinctly personal.
Highlights include the high energy title track, Zoetrope, the gradual unfolding of melody and form in Shambhala (featuring a memorable solo by altoist John O’Gallagher), the ballad For The Grace Of You, and the driving, shifting rhythms of Hairbender.
