New releases this week include The Button Jar, the solo debut from Yvonne Rogers that's inspired by childhood memories in rural Maine and shaped into fourteen miniature works, and Looking for Consonance acts as a reflective project from John Hollenbeck exploring tension and harmony through a blend of reeds, vocals, electronics, and shifting rhythmic complexity. Goodbye, Strawberry Hill is a deeply personal work by pianist Sharon Minemoto, tracing a family history shaped by Japanese Canadian internment and wartime displacement across continents, and Strasbourg 82 is the previously unreleased live recording capturing Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in the earliest documentation of the Blanchard/Harrison lineup as it comes to life on stage. To finish this week, Slo-Fi is a mood-driven EP from guitarist Eric Escanes that blends lo-fi textures, ambient guitar, and cinematic songwriting together into one, immersive listening experience.
The Button Jar
Yvonne Rogers
Drawing on her imaginative childhood in rural Maine, Yvonne Rogers crafts a spellbinding solo debut with The Button Jar. Composed of fourteen miniature pieces that blend whimsy and intricacy, the album draws on the image of her mother’s jar of buttons from her childhood, and the scope to create something colourful, creative, and new.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Looking for Consonance
John Hollenbeck
Looking for Consonance reflects drummer and composer John Hollenbeck’s ongoing exploration of tension, stability, and hope, where consonance and dissonance coexist as essential parts of musical and human experience. Created with reeds, vocals, and electronics the record moves through rhythmic complexity and emotional openness, ultimately emphasising the “looking” itself in the title as an act of musical expression
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Goodbye, Strawberry Hill
Sharon Minemoto
Goodbye, Strawberry Hill is a deeply personal album that traces World War II through the lens of one family’s experience: from the forced internment of Japanese Canadians after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, to displacement, loss, and resilience across continents. Spanning generations, pianist Sharon Minemoto transforms her family’s histories of injustice and endurance into music that channels both sorrow and hope.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Strasbourg 82
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Cut from the original master tapes and previously unreleased, Strasbourg 82 captures Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at full force in the earliest live recording of the Terence Blanchard/Donald Harrison lineup. Released by Gearbox Records as a premium AAA double LP and CD set, it’s a raw, electrifying snapshot of a band - and a movement – being forged in real time.
Available format: 2 CDs
Strasbourg 82
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Available format: 2 Vinyl Records
Slo-Fi
Eric Escanes
French-American guitarist Eric Escanes unveils his new EP Slo-Fi, a mood-driven collection built on slow tempos, ambient guitar textures, and intimate guest vocal performances. Blending lo-fi aesthetics with cinematic sounds, the Miami-based and Grammy-nominated guitarist channels influences from Hendrix to Scofield into a deeply atmospheric, late-night sonic world.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
