Theriot. - The Other. [KS.Theory 011 Promo]

Incoming from Toronto / Canada these days is "The Other.", the latest album outing by Vermont-based Jazz composer and musical master of many trades Kyle Saulnier, this time employing the new moniker Theriot. for his musical ventures brought to life alongside an illustrous set of participating musicians. Scheduled for release on September 18th, 2k26 we see Saulnier, probably best known by many as the leader of the Awakening Orchestra, catering a sonic menu of eight brand new pieces over the course of roughly 50 minutes, bringing on a rather dramatic intro sequence in the opening piece "The Other, Pt.1" which transforms into a chiming fusion of late night Jazz and organo-acoustic Downbeat x NuJazz with a bit of an almost Scandinavian quality before taking a turn toward Blaxploitation-infused funkiness at around minute 5 followed by "The Darkest Hour" which starts from an angle of plucked, almost rural and naturalistic Folk Improv leaning string tones which become the rhythmic lead and foundation for tender melodies and carefully layered brass harmonics telling tales of romantic love and longing throughout a night, and a lifetime. A little further down the line the "Interlude: The Sound Of Silence" adds a moment of inward-looking acoustic bass improvisation and leads the way into the most extended composition on this longplayer, "Fathers And Sons", with its ultra slow, yet emotionally touching late night movements which for us seem to evoke faint memories of the mid to late 90s TripHop minimalisms of Spacer and especially their "Atlas Earth" album on Pussyfoot Records vibewise and therefore might be our favorite cut on here alongside the dark Dope Beat driven "The Other, Pt.2" which might represent the most classic Jazz workout on "The Other." just to name a few. File under: Deep Jazz for nocturnal listening sessions. Good stuff.

Album artwork on Instagram!