We Fell in Turn Kalia Vandever

• 1Recollections From Shore03:53
• 2Imagine Being Told02:25
• 3Stillness In Hand01:58
• 4Mirrored Solitude03:26
• 5Center04:15
• 6Temper The Wound03:44
• 7Teased Traces02:55
• 8Held In02:34
• 9We Wept In Turn03:09
• 10Unfaltering02:39
• Total Runtime30:58

Info for We Fell in Turn

We Fell In Turn is the solo debut from Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and quartet leader Kalia Vandever. Vandever, who plays with Harry Styles and Japanese Breakfast, “sculpts her trombone’s golden tones into dazzling compositions” (Pitchfork), writing music that tends to “dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there” (The New York Times). In 2022, Vandever released Regrowth, an album that “features the ecstatic, brilliant melodies that have become Vandever’s signature sound” (Bandcamp). This spring, Vandever brings contemplative reflection to We Fell in Turn, a brave and understated work from an ascending voice in American jazz.

Recorded over three days in upstate New York, We Fell In Turn is improvisational — a stark palate of solo trombone, voice, effects, and little more. “My solo process has always been heavily rooted in improvisation,” says Vandever. “I wanted the process to feel similar to the way I perform. Lee Meadvin, who engineered and produced the album, had a heavy hand in the creative process as well. He would dictate prompts before I started improvising and those pieces ended up shaping a lot of the imagery that comes up throughout the record.”

Connecting the dots between Jeff Parker’s Forfolks, and early releases from Grouper, We Fell In Turn is a study of space and patience, embracing vulnerability in its sparse adornment. At times, the album is reminiscent of Patrick Shiroishi’s Hidemi, both in its familial inspiration and solo instrument study, while sharing the ineffable feel of William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops — the traces of her trombone folding in on themselves in an organic loop. Emotionally generous throughout, Vandever acts as a torchbearer for jazz’s historical yearning for connection.

On We Fell in Turn, Vandever draws inspiration from childhood memories — events that shaped her approach to love, community, and partnership, and her maternal homeland of Hawaii. “We were exploring childhood memories, earliest experiences with disappointment and pain, and my Hawaiian roots,” says Vandever. “We Fell In Turn came after I titled the track ‘We Wept In Turn’. Both come from the intangible feeling of waking up from vivid dreams, particularly the experience of falling right before waking up or waking up in tears.”

Through this exploration into her heritage, Vandever also found guidance. “In Hawaiian mythology, ‘aumākua are known as ancestral spiritual guides that manifest in different forms, whether physical or intangible,” says Vandever. “My ‘aumākua visits me in my dreams, usually with a reassuring hug or a reminder of my past. Memories and early experiences seem to escape me, but find their way back in dreams.” And now they’ve found their way into We Fell in Turn, Kalia Vandever’s stunning solo debut.

Kalia Vandever, trombone, effects, voice

Kalia Vandever
is an American trombonist and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her approach to the trombone is distinctive and defined by her sonorous tone and lyrical improvisational voice, allowing patience and melody to guide her process.

Vandever received her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School. She has toured and performed internationally with her quartet, performing at the Winter Jazz Festival and BRIC Jazz Festival. She has performed with Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, and Fay Victor, as well as popular artists Harry Styles, Lizzo, Japanese Breakfast, Moses Sumney, Jennifer Hudson, and Demi Lovato. She has appeared on Saturday Night Live, as well as Samantha Bee's Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Vandever is an awardee of the 2022 Next Jazz Legacy, a program founded by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

This album contains no booklet.