Ever restless, pianist-composer Armen Donelian takes yet another bold creative turn with Inquiry, his 15th album, to be released June 5 on Sunnyside Records. The result of a four-year, carefully conceived and painstakingly executed studio process, the album is a haunting and introspective work with no real precedent in Donelian’s long career.

Beginning life as an unaccompanied demo recording of Donelian’s then-newest compositions and arrangements, Inquiry evolved considerably from that genesis. While musing on the timbral possibilities on some of the tracks, Donelian (and engineer Dave Cook) had the revelation that he could build out orchestrations himself “by making subtle EQ shifts to the piano sound to create new ‘voices’ and ‘instruments.’” Yet Donelian also applies actual new voices and instruments to several tracks. Vocalist Dominique Eade, trombonist Ed Neumeister, bassist Jay Anderson, and drummer Dennis Mackrel appear in various places to put their own stamps on Donelian’s ruminations.