Soprano saxophonist & friend of the proGram, Jane Ira Bloom reunites with legendary vibist David Friedman on her latest recording Light from a Person. Long time collaborators from Bloom’s 1980’s recording days on CBS Records (“Modern Drama”), the duo is joined by renowned bassist Ken Filiano to perform Bloom originals conceived and performed for the experience of surround sound listening. The trio’s sound is luminous with the uncanny connect of Bloom’s soprano & Friedman’s vibraphone and propelled by the deep rhythmic drive of Filiano’s bass. There are ten stunning originals including “Bright Bars,” “Slydini,” “Airspace” & “True City” lit up by Bloom & Friedman’s light saber virtuosity – whether navigating breakneck tempos or lyric ballads, these seasoned improvisers know how to project just the right balance between sound and silence. There’s a special kind of musical light that happens when seasoned performers with a long history playing together vibrate with all the combined knowledge of their musical experience. The sound is both old and new, lyric and motion-filled, spare and light. “Light from a Person” captures these improvisers in all their dimension in high-definition stereo and immersive audio. Since Bloom’s last Outline release “Songs in Space,” (OTL146) the multiple-time Downbeat Critics Poll Winner for soprano sax has recorded a four star ****duo album with percussionist Brian Shankar Adler “once like a spark” (Adhyaropa (AR00155) and has appeared regularly at the Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn, NY with bassist Mark Helias. Bloom returned to the Clive Davis Institute in Brooklyn, NY to record this new trio project in surround sound with her Grammy award team of engineering legends Jim Anderson and tonmeister Ulrike Schwarz. Improvisational art and audio science come together to make this a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Light from a Person is available as both a stereo digital release (OTL147i and immersive digital release (OTL147i) on Oct 22, 2026.
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Jane to discuss this new release. The music on this alum, along with the feeling of the vibes and the style of the bass have added a happy feeling in a time where those are hard to come by. We talk about the improvisors intention while creating, the time it took to get the final product and the process these three artists went through to get there. We talk about one of the tracks in a little depth as I prepare to air it for the listeners. This is the type of album, as it was recorded to be immersed in, to really feel!
