Prolific saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Jon Iragabon released two albums simultaneously on March 13, 2026. First is Focus Out (Irabagast, 2026), a quartet outing with Matt Mitchell on piano and Fender Rhodes, Chris Lightcap on electric bass, Dan Weiss on drums, and the leader on alto saxophone. It also features several special guests: vocalist KOKAYI, tenor saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Mark Shim, guitarist Miles Ozaki, and trumpeter Dave Ballou. The second, Saturday’s Child (Irabagast, 2026), is a live duo bass sax performance – Irabagon’s debut on the instrument – with Dan Oestreicher. As Irabagon reflects on the title, pointing out that Wednesday’s child gets all the attention, but “Saturday’s child works hard for a living,” succinctly describing the many hours of practice, study, and research he devoted to the instrument. The performance took place during Chicago’s 2023 Instigation Festival and the fully improvised set surveys funk, swing, New Orleans parade music, and daring avant-garde experimentalism. Those who purchase the CD are greeted with crayon illustrations by Iragabon’s eldest daughter, whose art graces all panels. This, in one sense, connotes the playfulness of the session.
Focus Out has a bit of history behind it. Originally, starting in 2022, Iragabon planned to release an album apiece on which he plays a different saxophone. 2022’s Rising Sun (Irabagast) featured the tenor. 2024’s Recharge (Itabagast), with trombonist Ray Anderson, had the soprano. Yet, given family responsibilities, Iragabon decided to return to his foundational instrument, the alto, for this session. Plans for future efforts, besides the bass sax, include the mezzo-soprano.
Focus Out has two major creative influences: family and the optical art of Japanese professor and artist Akiyoshi Kitaoka, whose two pieces of visual illusion-inducing geometric art grace the album art and the CD itself. Iragabon was intrigued by the resulting visual mind games that produced feelings of fatigue and anxiety. The latter fits well with Iragabon’s style can best be described as frantic, tense, and blinding in terms of speed and fluidity.
Opener “Morning Star” finds the saxophonist blowing frenzied rubato phrases over a funky rhythm bed. Later, the thrice as long “Evening Star,” reimagines the piece through the lens of John Coltrane’s Ascension (Impulse!, 1966) as McCaslin, Shim, Ozaki, and Ballou augment the sound to form an outrageous octet of raucous, insistent voices, with Irabagon’s frantic alto setting the pace.
The title track, with Mitchell on resonating Rhodes and Lightcap’s surging electric bass, reads like relatively light jazz fusion. Yet, that’s deceptive because the vamp accrues an additional eighth note with each iteration. The time signature constantly shifts in the process. The dialogue between Iragabon and his bandmates in the last section is riveting.
Both “Paper Planes” and “Indigo Stains” feature vocalist KOKAYI, known for improvising lyrics on the spot. “Paper Planes,” with guests Ballou and Osaki, is named after Iragabon’s favorite cocktail and reflects a party vibe for the lyrical content. This often leaves such lyrics difficult to decipher over the instrumentation. “Indigo Stains” goes in the opposite direction, sending up a dark, tense, atmospheric soundscape, over which KOKAYI delivers a, more decipherable, politically conscious rant about the brutal news cycle, which only gets worse over time under the current administration.
The tone shifts toward spiritual elements in the gorgeous “Payer (for Reomi),” dedicated to Iragabon’s younger daughter. He renders the tune in duet with Mitchell on acoustic piano. Iragabon’s alto tone on the piece is crystalline – simply superb – with Mitchell providing gentle, lyrical accompaniment. Bonus track “Center Post” is a rapid running bop piece that has become a staple of the quartet’s live sets, with a whirlwind drum spot from Weiss. Juxtapositioned with the former, it aptly encapsulates the breadth of Iragabon’s virtuosity on the alto.
It is not easy to predict what Iragabon will do next, but we have provided at least one clue herein. In the meantime, there’s plenty to savor in these two releases.
‘Saturday’s Child’ and ‘Focus Out’ are both out now on Irabagast Records. They can be purchased on Bandcamp.
Leave a Reply