Jon Irabagon Returns to His Roots with PlainsPeak Quartet and Someone to Someone

Saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon, one of the most compelling voices in contemporary jazz, presents Someone to Someone—a heartfelt new release from his label, Irabbagast Records, available August 15, 2025. Featuring his newly formed quartet PlainsPeak, the album reunites him with longtime friends and fellow musical innovators from the Midwest.

Widely celebrated for his genre-defying sound and described by PopMatters as “ripe and rowdy, burnished, tender all at the right moments,” Irabagon once again showcases his versatility—this time through a back-to-basics, acoustic approach.

Following the adventurous, tech-forward Server Farm, Someone to Someone offers a more intimate sound with trumpeter Russ Johnson, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Dana Hall. Each member shares a deep history with Irabagon: Johnson played on his 2008 debut, Sommers accompanied his first-ever public performance in high school, and Hall was already a mentor figure during Irabagon’s undergrad years at DePaul University in Chicago.

The album’s title track, “PlainsPeak,” captures the spirit of Chicago’s Great Plains locale while nodding to the group’s straightforward, emotionally resonant sound—“plain speak” in musical form. It's also the first Chicago-based ensemble Irabagon has led under his name, built around alto sax, his first instrument.

Every track tells a story. “Buggin’ the Bug” references both the blues and last summer’s cicada swarm. “Malört Is My Shepherd” honors Chicago’s notoriously bitter liqueur with quasi-spiritual flair and full-throttle improvisation. “At What Price Garlic” serves up shifting time signatures as layered as a deep-dish pizza. “Tiny Miracles” reflects on loss, resilience, and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series win. And “The Pulseman” is a percussive tribute to Hall and drummers everywhere.

Irabagon—Filipino-American, Thelonious Monk Competition winner, and recipient of both DownBeat honors and the Philippine Presidential Award—has lived many musical lives: from New York icon to Chicago improviser. With Someone to Someone, he merges past and present, mentors and peers, inside tradition and outside freedom. The result is both personal and powerful.