Big and epic sweeping jazz born astride the city’s tallest peak, In Solitude is a new collection of mathy minimal chamber works by the Steven Lugerner-led SLUGish Ensemble. Lugerner—who plays bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, and alto flute on the album—is joined here by five other musicians, bringing to life seven compositions written in isolation during the first year of the pandemic. The music is directly inspired by the place where the compositions came together, in SF’s Miraloma neighborhood (in between Glen Canyon and Mount Davidson), where Lugerner took daily walks during lockdown. Captured at 25th St. Studios in Oakland and released by Slow & Steady Records, these are seemingly simple arrangements but vast in spirit, reminding one of the big name in the space (Kamasi Washington) though the artist specifically name drops west coast rock groups Covet, CHON, and Floral as inspiration.
