Jack DeJohnette, above. Photo: Newvelle  

It's looking like an April 2016 release for Jack DeJohnette’s vinyl-only Return. 

This solo piano album – DeJohnette’s first, recorded thirty years after his earlier piano-led trio album – will be released on pianist Elan Mehler’s year-old Newvelle Records.

Mehler comments in an interview with writer Willard Jenkins: “Everyone knows that Jack is one of the greatest drummers to ever hold a stick, but I’ve always greatly admired Jack’s compositions and touch on piano as well. We reached out to him with the idea, and he liked our model and responded immediately.” 

Jack DeJohnette's website confirms the new release plans and adds that the album “features two brand new compositions” the first of which is opener ‘Ode to Satie’, the second ‘Dervish Trance’ inspired by the Sufi Dervishes plus “reinterpretations of compositions recorded with earlier bands and projects”. Of these latter ‘Ebony’ for instance draws on a piece from 1980’s Special Edition. Return also includes a Milton Nascimento piece ‘Ponta de Areia.’

In the video above Jack DeJohnette talks about the influence of Erik Satie and how it relates to his own compositional style. 

5 Jan 2016 update: Newvelle are embarking on a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on 25 January