Saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and label head Jon Irabagon has turned 2025 into a startlingly productive year.
With several major projects already available and more to come, his output spans large ensemble composition, intimate improvisation, and a new acoustic quartet release due in August.
Upcoming Release: Someone to Someone
On August 15 Irabagon will release Someone to Someone on his Irabbagast Records imprint. The album, by his newly formed acoustic quartet PlainsPeak, reflects a group of longtime collaborators centered around Irabagon’s current Chicago base.
Earlier Projects
Earlier in the year, February saw the arrival of Server Farm, a bold record of Irabagon’s compositions written for a ten-piece ensemble—a kind of double quintet—recorded March 12, 2023 at Big Orange Studio in Brooklyn. The lineup includes Irabagon, violinist and vocalist Mazz Swift, trumpeter and flugelhornist Peter Evans, guitarists Miles Okazaki and Wendy Eisenberg, keyboardist Matt Mitchell, acoustic bassist Michael Formanek, electric bassist Chris Lightcap, drummer Dan Weiss, and vibraphonist/electronics artist Levy Lorenzo.