Chicago baritone saxophonist Jimmy Farace returns with the release of his second single, “DST,” from his sophomore album Big Shoulders, Big Sounds, out today on Shifting Paradigm Records. The record follows his critically acclaimed debut Hours Fly, Flowers Die, and continues his emergence as one of the most compelling new voices on the baritone saxophone in contemporary jazz.
This new release arrives with clear intent: a stripped-down, high-risk trio format featuring Farace on baritone saxophone, compositions, and arrangements, alongside bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall. With no piano to anchor or cushion the harmonic space, the trio operates in open air—lean, exposed, and highly responsive—placing maximum focus on interaction, time, and melodic invention.
Big Shoulders, Big Sounds is not a quiet continuation of Farace’s earlier work; it is a declaration. Where his debut established him as a composer with a broad emotional range and growing critical recognition, this new album pushes further into directness and risk. The music leans into the full expressive weight of the baritone saxophone, balancing muscular intensity with lyrical clarity, and grounding itself in both tradition and forward motion.
The title itself nods to Chicago’s famous cultural image of “big shoulders,” long associated with strength and resilience, while also pointing toward the lineage of baritone saxophone giants who shaped the instrument’s history. Listeners can hear echoes of that tradition in Farace’s sound—at times recalling the lyricism of Gerry Mulligan, the agility of Pepper Adams, and the exploratory spirit of Hamiet Bluiett—yet the music remains firmly rooted in his own evolving voice.
Across the album, Farace’s original compositions such as “Cloud Splitter,” “Prophetic Dreams,” “DST,” “Decorah’s Dance,” and “Three Headed Dragon” unfold as distinct emotional landscapes, each shaped by shifting energy, rhythmic tension, and melodic openness. The absence of a chordal instrument allows Sommers and Hall to create a flexible harmonic environment that breathes with the music rather than defining it, giving Farace room to move freely between weight and air, structure and spontaneity.
The trio also engages with select standards and repertoire pieces as gestures of respect and continuity. Works such as “Chelsea Bridge,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and Charles Davis’s “Just Us Blues” are treated not as reinventions but as points of reflection—anchoring the album in jazz history while highlighting how Farace’s baritone voice situates itself within it.
Early critical response underscores the growing attention around his work. Reviewers have praised the emotional depth of his playing, the maturity of his tone, and his ability to merge compositional clarity with improvisational urgency. Across commentary from outlets such as All About Jazz, DownBeat Magazine, and other jazz voices, a consistent narrative has emerged: Farace is a player and writer whose sound demands attention, and whose trajectory suggests continued evolution.
Big Shoulders, Big Sounds also arrives amid an expanding touring schedule:
April 17th @ Bar Centro – Milwaukee, WI
April 24th @ Trio Jazz Club – Sioux Falls, SD
April 25th @ Berlin – Minneapolis, MN
May 30th @ Merrimen’s Playhouse – South Bend, IN
Recorded as a piano-less trio session, the album emphasizes immediacy and interaction over polish or ornamentation. The result is a record that feels both grounded and exploratory—music shaped in real time, where every gesture carries weight and intention.
As Farace continues to develop his voice as both composer and improviser, Big Shoulders, Big Sounds stands as a confident step forward—one that embraces lineage without imitation, and risk without hesitation.
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