Jazz collective Artemis have announced that their third album, Arboresque, will be out on February 28 via Blue Note Records. The swinging, brassy first single from the project, “The Smile Of The Snake,” is out now.
The collective will also celebrate the new project with performances at the famed New York City venue Village Vanguard from March 4 through 9.
Arboresque will consist of eight songs, at least a couple of which fans may already be familiar with. The album features new renditions of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” and Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints.” As the title suggests, the body of work explores themes of natural and environmental beauty.
“Our goal is to make honest music that touches people,” pianist and musical director Renée Rosnes says in a press statement. “We inspire one another and feel passionate about playing together. All that positive energy comes through in the music and I believe the audiences feel it.”
“The Smile Of The Snake,” which you can check out above, is also an arrangement the group chose to cover, courtesy of pianist Donald Brown. “The title refers to people whom you love and trust, but who end up disappointing you,” Rosnes explains.
Rosnes initially assembled the group in 2016 to celebrate International Women’s Day with a series of live performances. Other musicians in Artemis include trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda, and drummer Allison Miller. All members of the band contributed an original composition to the album.
Though there have been changes to the band’s lineup over the past few years, Artemis has found stability in its latest iteration. Rosnes attributes this to Jensen’s “stunningly original voice,” Glover’s “innate sense of purpose and freedom,” Ueda as “a virtuoso of the bass,” and Miller as “the band’s center of gravity.” She adds: “As a quintet, there’s a greater feeling of elasticity. We’ve become looser and tighter at the same time.”
