Heirloom’s Familiar Beginnings Introduces a Distinctive New Voice in Modern Jazz

The rising jazz quartet Heirloom makes a compelling entrance with their debut album Familiar Beginnings, set for release on September 26, 2025, via Shifting Paradigm Records. Co-led by guitarist/composer Ben Dameron and drummer/composer Hannah Johnson, the ensemble also includes saxophonist Sam Taylor, a DownBeat Award winner, and esteemed bassist Tim Ipsen. Together, they deliver a project full of melodic depth, emotional nuance, and genre-blending innovation.

The album’s central idea—new experiences that feel comfortingly known—shapes its sonic direction. “We wanted the record to evoke the feeling of discovering something new that still feels like home,” says Dameron. “It’s about cycles and moments that echo through our lives.”

Dameron’s compositions serve as the album’s core. With classical roots from the San Francisco Conservatory and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, he composes with narrative focus and organic fluency, weaving together elements of jazz, chamber music, folk, and cinematic soundscapes. Legendary Brazilian guitarist Sérgio Assad has called Dameron “a natural talent” destined for leadership in the contemporary guitar world.

Equally foundational to Heirloom’s sound is Hannah Johnson, whose adventurous drumming embodies joy, curiosity, and emotional range. A multi-genre artist, she brings wide experience—including a recent stint touring with Durand Jones on Orville Peck’s Stampede Tour—and a deep artistic vision. She’s also a core member of indie-folk band Finding Frances, where her songwriting was featured on their 2023 release For Flowers Yet to Bloom.

Johnson contributes two standout pieces to Familiar Beginnings: a hauntingly beautiful reimagining of Ellington and Strayhorn’s “Isfahan,” and her own contemplative miniature, “Interlude.” Together, they create a moody, inward-facing suite that balances the album’s broader narrative scope.

The title track, “Familiar Beginnings,” opens the album with soaring melody and subtle counterpoint, establishing the quartet’s conversational style. It’s followed by “Eucalyptus Breeze,” an homage to Dameron’s Bay Area years, evoking sunlit streets and aromatic winds. “Spice Trance,” inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune, builds on layered grooves and tension, culminating in an explosive group improvisation. Later, “Chased Out of a Dream” conjures cinematic moods with urgency and lyrical depth, mirroring the emotional residue of a half-remembered dream.

“Messages from the Deep” invites introspection, asking unspoken questions through space, breath, and texture. The tone then shifts with “Fake Block,” a witty, rhythmically playful composition referencing a fictional software gag from Arrested Development. The humor is understated, but the musicianship is fearless. The album closes with “Indigo Tears,” another Dune-inspired piece that fuses Americana with free jazz—a solemn meditation on longing, beauty, and resilience.

Throughout the album, Sam Taylor’s saxophone elevates the melodic narrative with graceful phrasing and a rich tonal palette, while Tim Ipsen delivers agile bass lines that root the ensemble with warmth and clarity.

Though grounded in jazz, Heirloom’s sound reaches far beyond easy classification. Their music embraces tradition while inviting change, creating a space for both the cerebral and the heartfelt. Familiar Beginnings is more than a debut—it’s a statement of purpose from two thoughtful composers and the creative circle they’ve cultivated.

Track Listing:

1. Familiar Beginnings – 3:55

2. Eucalyptus Breeze – 9:45

3. Spice Trance – 8:11

4. Chased Out of a Dream – 6:01

5. Interlude – 3:05

6. Isfahan – 5:45

7. Messages from the Deep – 7:29

8. Fake Block – 7:16

9. Indigo Tears – 7:49