Coin Of The Realm

My new quintet album, Coin Of The Realm (Cosmology Records) was released on the various streaming platforms on Valentine's Day of this year.  Go to the John D'earth BandCamp page to hear the album and other music from our long tenure creating original jazz music here  in Charlottesville.  The list of musicians who have contributed to my music, over the years, is a who's who of the vibrant C-Ville jazz scene, and includes archival recordings of the late, great, and sorely missed vocalist, Dawn Thompson, my wife and longtime musical partner.

The new album features J.C. Kuhl on tenor saxophone, Daniel Clarke on piano, Peter Spaar on bass, Devonne Harris on drums, and John D'earth on trumpet. 

The musicians realizing my compositions on Coin Of The Realm have been some of my closest musical collaborators, over decades. On this record they completely inhabit my music and make it their own. The inter-relationship between these five musicians represents a vast web of bands and projects that goes back a long, long way.

The “Realm” referred to in the album’s title is a realm of musical collaboration, fostered by a long-running (decades-long) Thursday Night gig at Miller’s Restaurant on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. (The album, Thursday, Night, Live at Miller's, produced by Greg Howard, is from 1998!) The “Coin,” in the title refers to the currency you need to survive and thrive in this realm: shared musical feeling and experience, and a long-term, fundamental relationship with the blues.  This quintet, and this recording, represent a flower of the Miller’s milieu; a musical realm infused with warmth, virtuosity, and a common goal: to give oneself, without reservation, to the music.  Thank you, Miller's stalwarts!

This album would not be what it is without the production and engineering genius of Colin Killalea and Curtis Fye.  What a team! My deepest gratitude to everyone involved.

Watch for a vinyl release of a new JD Quintet album in the coming months. I'm going to sing!

Let us know what you think of Coin of the Realm.

A Reminder About Bandcamp

Fans of Dawn Thompson's amazing voice and songs can now hear some of our earliest work together on Bandcamp:

Thursday Night, Live at Miller’s, from 1998, and ON! from 2013, along with the Cosmology Vanguard recording, 1977, and Cosmology’s Word From The Underground, 1984 (dedicated to George Orwell) are all up on Bandcamp.  Other recordings from Thompson/D’earth, and previously released and unreleased John D’earth recordings will be appearing there soon.