COOKUP Sam Gendel

• 1Differences02:35
• 2Anywhere (feat. Meshell Ndegeocello)03:32
• 3Are You That Somebody03:32
• 4I Swear04:50
• 5Candy Rain02:25
• 6In Those Jeans04:13
• 7Crazy In Love01:26
• 8I Wanna Know04:17
• 9Didn't Cha Know02:05
• 10Let Me Love You05:57
• 11SWV Medley01:29
• 12Water Runs Dry03:50
• Total Runtime40:11

Info for COOKUP

Sam Gendel’s COOKUP—a new album comprising interpretations of R&B and soul hits originally released between 1992 and 2004—is due February 24, 2023, via Nonesuch Records. As with his 2020 Nonesuch debut, Satin Doll, Gendel recorded COOKUP in his native California with his friends and collaborators Gabe Noel and Philippe Melanson; the trio again adopts an approach of simultaneous synchronized sonic construction/deconstruction of the album’s source material, which this time includes songs by Ginuwine, 112, Aaliyah, All-4-One, Soul 4 Real, Beyoncé, Joe, Erykah Badu, Mario, SWV, and Boyz II Men. Preorders for COOKUP are available here, along with Gendel’s version of 112’s “Anywhere,” featuring Meshell Ndegeocello on vocals.

“COOKUP marks another chance to convene with my good friends Phil Melanson and Gabe Noel,” says Gendel. “For this occasion we hovered over a particular flavor: jams that we grew up with. We sculpted in sound our collective memories of this music. Meshell Ndegeocello took the 112 to another dimension (shoutout wayne12)”.

Gendel followed Satin Doll later in 2020 with DRM, an album on which the artist traded his trademark saxophone for vintage instruments and his own voice. On COOKUP, Gendel is back on sax, also playing wind controller, synthesizer, piano, great bass recorder, and nylon guitar. Noel plays electric bass, as well as vibraphone, lap steel guitar, contrabass guitar, and cello guitar, while Melanson plays drums and electronic percussion. The album was produced by Gendel and mixed by Dean Hurley.

Sam Gendel is an LA-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who Pitchfork calls “one of the main fixtures of Los Angeles’ bubbling ambient jazz scene.” After Satin Doll and DRM, he released digital singles of Laurie Anderson’s “Sweaters,” Duke Ellington’s “Isfahan,” and Charlie Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes.” Gendel‘s extensive discography also includes collaborations with Sam Wilkes (2018’s Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar and 2021’s Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs), Josiah Steinbrick (2021’s Mouthful / Serene), Pino Palladino and Blake Mills (2021’s Notes With Attachments and 2022’s Recorded Live at Sound City Dec 20th 2020), Antonia Cytrnowicz (2022’s LIVE A LITTLE), and more. He also performs on two other recent Nonesuch releases: Joachim Cooder’s Over That Road I’m Bound and Sam Amidon’s self-titled album.

Sam Gendel, saxophone, synthesizer, piano, flute, guitar
Gabe Noel, bass, vibraphone, double bass, lap steel, cello, electronics, percussion
Meshell Ndegeocello, vocals (track 2)

Sam Gendel
Sam’s Nonesuch Records debut album, Satin Doll, will be released March 13, 2020. Recorded in Gendel’s native California, Satin Doll is a futuristic homage to historical jazz. The album features three musicians—Gendel on saxophone, Gabe Noel on electric bass, and Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion—engaging in simultaneous synchronized sonic construction/deconstruction of jazz standards, including Miles Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader,” Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” and Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll.” A Gendel-produced video for the album track “Afro Blue” by Mongo Santamaria may be seen below. Satin Doll may be pre-ordered now with an instant download of "Afro Blue."

“Sam Gendel plays like a student at the altar of spiritual jazz," says Pitchfork. "His songs are just a little too psychedelic to sit in the contemporary jazz section, but his music is as studied and controlled as his counterparts in post-bop." "In the spirit of Miles Davis or late-career John Coltrane," says Fader, "Gendel aspires to a transcendent form of jazz." KCRW says: "Sam Gendel makes poetry in musical motion [and] speaks to our time and beyond."

Sam Gendel is a musician and producer living in Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes significant collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Blake Mills, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and inc. no world. Gendel’s previous discography includes the critically praised Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar with bassist Sam Wilkes and 4444.

This album contains no booklet.