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I can't believe he's had 28 releases on SteepleChase! I've never heard him.

This was recorded in April. Nowadays, it's unusual for something to be issued so soon after recording. Bassist and Composer Zack Lober To Release His Sophomore Album As Bandleader, So We Could Live Veteran New York City sideman presents his second album from his critically acclaimed Netherlands-based group NO FILL3R CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE ON OCTOBER 3, 2025. ZENNEZ RECORDS - ZR2025015 | WWW.ZENNEZRECORDS.COM Zack Lober - Bass Jasper Blom - Tenor Sax Suzan Veneman - Trumpet Sun-Mi Hong - Drums Pressestimmen zu Zack Lober’s Debut Album NO FILL3R: “Quietly Adventurous” - Downbeat Magazine “Lober has been a sideman on many recordings over the last 20 years, but this adventurous album is his first as a leader. I hope it’s the first of many.” - The Wire “The trio makes music which is deceptively intense and seductive” - All About Jazz  After 25 years as an in-demand sideman contributing to projects and performances from a diverse group of artists across the spectrum of jazz and improvised music, bassist Zack Lober presents an adventurous and deeply personal musical statement with his sophomore release as a leader, So We Could Live releasing on the Netherlands-based Zennez Records.  On So We Could Live, Lober’s core trio featuring rising Jazz stars Sun-Mi Hong (drums) and Suzan Veneman (trumpet) is enhanced with the addition of Dutch tenor saxophone legend Jasper Blom to present a set of deeply personal music that pays tribute to Lober’s father as well as to all of those who sacrifice and serve so that others can live a better life. The music follows the spirit of the group’s original concept with the perfect marriage of catchy, singable songs followed by fierce moments of spontaneous collective improvisation. The album was recorded live in one large room at the world-renowned Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, The Netherlands. It was produced by Lober’s longtime friend and musical peer Ben van Gelder. Veneman, Lober, Hong, Blom (l to r) © Govert Driessen The lead single and leadoff track for the album, “Joe Type Tune,” is a tribute to Joe Henderson and his famous chord-less trio album The State of the Tenor featuring Ron Carter and Al Foster. Based on a simple two-bar descending bass line, the band gets to stretch out to the max with plenty of musical pyrotechnics from both Blom and Hong. Jasper Blom’s “Behind a Myth” is inspired by the early 20th century composer and musical theorist Paul Hindemith. Of the piece, Blom says: “This is the most atonal piece I have ever written, but the tonal qualities never seem to be too far away. “The Loose End”, is another contribution from Jasper Blom. “I wanted to write an “empty” tune. One in which space was as important as the composed parts and where trumpet and tenor would alternate in playing the lead. To add to the suspense, I added a musical “cliffhanger” at the end, hence the title.” Lober’s composition “Vignette” puts the group in more familiar territory albeit with a polytonal twist. The piece is inspired by the 1960’s Wayne Shorter composition ETC from the album of the same name. “Wayne’s writing on that album is especially minimalistic and geared for stretching out. That whole album was very important to me during my formative years.” The album continues with the recording’s most intimate and personal moment, the solo bass medley of Lober’s composition “Dad,” a tribute to his late father coupled with the timeless classic “Besame Mucho”, his father and stepmother’s wedding song. That piece is followed by two more Blom compositions “Landscape”, a groovy tune exploring the two horns and bass within a rhythmic frame and “Feathered Head” inspired by a classic Dave Holland composition from the seventies, “Conference of the Birds“. The album’s closing number and namesake is Lober’s “So We Could Live” a meditative piece that leads to a powerful emotional climax featuring drummer Sun-Mi Hong in a beautifully framed solo. So We Could Live will be released by Zennez Records in digital download, compact disc as well as on all major streaming platforms. TRACKS 1. Joe Type Tune 2. Behind A Myth* 3. The Loose End* 4. Vignette 5. Dad / Besame Mucho** 6. Landscape* 7. Feathered Head* 8. So We Could Live All compositions by Zack Lober (except * by Jasper Blom and ** by Consuelo Velazquez). Recorded April 22 and 23, 2025 at Wisseloord Studios, The Netherlands. Recording Engineer: Alessandro Mazzieri, Producer: Ben van Gelder, Mixing Engineer: Micha de Kanter, Mastering: Peter Brussee ABOUT THE ARTISTS Click on the respective name to continue reading. A native of Montreal, Canada, via NYC and Boston, ZACK LOBER, now based in The Netherlands, has performed as a band member in groups led by artists including David Binney, Henry Threadgill, Seamus Blake, Butch Morris, Frank London, John Escreet, Greg Ward, Jamie Baum, Jerry Bergonzi, Phil Grenadier, Jason Palmer and Chet Doxas and has also performed throughout Europe, India, Mexico, Canada, and the United States in bands led by Ingrid Jensen, Christine Jensen, Benoit Charest, Christophe Schweizer, as well as with "The Story".... JASPER BLOM (1965) is a pivotal tenor and soprano saxophonist of the Dutch jazz scene and winner of the Boy Edgar Prize 2019, the most prestigious award for jazz and improvised music in the Netherlands. Blom has performed with Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Nat Adderley, Bob Brookmeyer, George Duke, Randy Crawford, David Liebman, Conrad Herwig and many other international renowned artists and is considered to be one of the most versatile players in the Benelux.... Jazz trumpet player SUZAN VENEMAN captures audiences with her adventurous and soulful sound. After finishing her studies ni the UAS she has been fulfilling her role as musician and promising composer/arranger both ni the Netherlands and abroad. Comfortable in many genres of modern music, she can be seen playing with a wide variety of bands, including: the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Beets New Jazz Orchestra, Zack Lober's NO FILL3R, Bonnet (Patrick Bonnet), Undercurrent Trio &Suzan Veneman and her own ambitious projects 'Zinder' and the 'Suzan Veneman Sextet'... SUN-MI HONG, a South Korean drummer based in Amsterdam, has emerged as a rising star in the vibrant jazz scene of the Dutch capital. Renowned for her boundless creativity and infectious energy, Sun-Mi has established herself as a force to be reckoned with. With her latest album and collaboration with Edition Records, Sun-Mi fulfills a lifelong dream of expressing herself through drumming and composition...

I'm surprised that Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary and Buffalo are so low.

👍

Week 13 previews https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/10-all-cfl-candidates-on-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/6-players-to-watch-on-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/the-weekly-say-which-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend-rivalry-is-best/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/bombers-riders-share-nice-things-about-their-rival-ahead-of-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend/ https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/5-things-to-know-riders-bombers-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend-rivalry/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/mosaic-stadium-will-be-electric-for-60th-labour-day-classic/#google_vignette https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/calgary-exposes-saskatchewan-but-can-winnipeg-follow-up/ https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/bombers-making-moves-ahead-of-labour-day-classic/ ***** Game Notes https://www.cfl.ca/2025/08/28/game-notes-what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-ok-tire-labour-day-weekend/ ***** The Elks have put Steven Dunbar, Jr., and Robbie Smith on the six-game list. https://3downnation.com/2025/08/28/edmonton-elks-move-steven-dunbar-jr-robbie-smith-to-six-game-injured-list/ ***** Calgary analysis https://cflnewshub.com/cfl-news/can-the-calgary-stampeders-win-the-west-division/ ***** ***** Only seven games in his career? *****

👍 - Vol.2 and Vol.3 also here ...

Thanks, fingers crossed. I only ever get VAT requests prior to delivery, held until paid. Never retrospectively, don't like that idea at all

I feel the bigger risk (that will deter a lot of shippers) is the uncertainty that some agent will just ahead and make up some new rules on the spot and slap on tariffs whether justified or not. I definitely would not rely on the protocols being applied accurately, and in particular I would not count on CDs and LPs being exempt from tariffs. I found it was about 50/50 whether Canada post charged me import duties on shipments from the US (the de minimus threshold has always been laughably low and I don't think Canada did raise it, though it was supposed to), and I can guarantee you that in Canada at least import duties are applied to books, CDs and LPs.

How is that one? Have been curious for a while and see it from time to time but never picked it up....

In a few weeks the answer will probably be yes, but in a top-down political system like they have in the US, it takes a few days for presidential decisions to become operational at the post office level.... In four weeks or so, they'll have a preferred way of collecting their tariffs and then postal services will be operational again, most likely.... Of course, the tariffs will still have to be paid and I will not comment further on possible long run effects because for good reasons political debates are forbidden here + how would I know

Ha - some cooler weather would be great right about now. We've got a few trips planned to get out of the heat over the next 6 weeks or so, and then hopefully it's the beginning of hiking season here. Looking forward to that! It's tarantula season right now (which corresponds to monsoon season here - the rain & relatively higher humidity triggers a breeding instinct or something), and we're seeing them. Posted this pic on FB the other day, this AZ blonde tarantula was right in front of my garage.

Thanks for the welcome and the suggestion! I'm not sure if my tastes are catholic enough to make an interesting one, but at any rate I'd like to participate for a while first. Thanks. I don't have that Benny Green track.

Here is what BandCamp sent out today: Hello, Significant changes are coming to global tariffs (import taxes imposed by a government) that may impact how packages enter the United States. In practice, this means fees may be applied to some types of merchandise on US-bound shipments, and some Bandcamp sellers may choose to temporarily pause shipments to the US. Also, several international postal carriers are temporarily suspending delivery to the US. These restrictions do not come from the artists or labels but from global carriers. If you have questions about how an artist or label is handling this for your order, you can contact them directly by clicking the “Contact” link on the right side of their page. Remember, that while some artists and labels may suspend shipments to the US, you can always support them directly by purchasing digital music. For more information, head to our help center.

Timeless SJP 167 - P. Venneman / T.Thielemans " Sun Games" - rec. 1982 - Engineering: Marc Maerschalck/Pierre Joncheer/Taf Verlinden

Doctor Jazz FW c40155 - Don Sebesky " Moving Lines" - rec. 1984 - Engineering: Jim Czak/John Post/Noah Evans

Me too.

Regarding EU orders, CDjapan offers the option the import taxes either to be charged at paid by the buyer at check out, or *not* to be charged at check out (and in this case the package will/may be subject to customs clearance). I always choose the latter and shipping with the Japanese Postal services, because in this way the customs clearance and delivery will be done by the Greek postal services, while DHL/UPS et al. charge crazy handling fees on top of the legal import tax. Wouldn't this work with shipments to USA as well?

After some (re)listening, I'd likely rate their first album -- Catalyst (Cobblestone, 1972) -- as their second strongest LP after Perception. It's available on YT. Listen for yourself and let me know if you agree!

I'm sure I will.

I hope you enjoy them!

NP: Catalyst - The Funkiest Band You Never Heard (32 Groove, rel. 1999) Disc 1 - Originally released as 2 LPs: Catalyst (Cobblestone, 1972) and Unity (Muse, 1974)

Sorry @Rooster_Ties, I'd have to listen to all four of them again to offer an informed opinion. I only remember that I'd liked Perception best. That said, just about anything with Odean Pope is worth hearing, IMO.

I was totally unaware of Catalyst before this thread appeared last night. QUESTION: What would be the second strongest of those four albums?? I streamed most of Perception on my walk into work this morning, and i was pretty much blown away by it — YOWZA!!

Thanks for the tip. I'd known it was out there. . . but hadn't made an effort to get it. I'll correct that. I just ordered this, and "Voices."