Ahead of her debut album Sky Stories, out on October 30th on BACE records, Chicago trumpeter Emily Kuhn has released a new video and track from it, titled ‘Roses’, and we’re absolutely delighted to premiere it here on Backseat Mafia today.
Emily has worked already with the likes of Kitt Lyles, Erik Skov and Gustavo Cortiñas, and the album is a love letter to the city, scene, landscapes and surroundings of Chicago.
Of Roses, Emily says “Roses’ was initially inspired by the playful sentiment of Mary Oliver’s poem by the same title. The song is inspired by the idea that a fleeting moment, such as a flower shifting in the wind, is made exquisite by its ephemerality. It features lush string writing, a chorus of background vocals, and interweaving improvisations that build to an exuberant Brazilian groove. The studio video is directed by Zack Sievers. The gold-toned video intersperses time-lapse footage of roses blooming and dying from 1925 and shots of a dramatic sky over Chicago in 2020 with live footage from the recording sessions.”
There’s a sense of classic songwriting in Roses, the melody is memorable and emotive, and especially in the opening section, backing vocals and Emily’s trumpet passes over times and beats giving it this beautiful off kilter feeling. As it moves into it’s bossa section, it moves you in that way that has you tapping feet, nodding head, smiling to yourself way that jazz can do. There’s some incredible work over the warm accompaniments there on in from Sax and Trumpet as it dances it’s playful way through.
Truly lovely stuff. Check it out, here
