Brooklyn-based artist Jonah Parzen-Johnson returns with the new album You're Never Really Alone, out on We Jazz Records, March 8. If you look at the label on the LP containing eight intimate compositions for baritone sax & flute, you will find the words, “we made this together”. At first thought, this simple phrase may seem out of place on a solo record, but just like the compositions on this album, it was carefully crafted to cut to the core of what this music is all about. 

In Jonah’s words: “It’s pretty hard to end up at a solo saxophone concert by accident. Odds are pretty good, if you are there, it is because you light up when you experience something new, something experimental. That shared desire connects us, and suddenly, for a night, we are a community. For me, being connected to those spontaneous communities is the best part of being an experimental artist. Everything I make is in service to the cultivation of that community, our community. Without it my music doesn’t exist and because of that I can joyfully say to each person, at every concert, that we made this together.” 

You’re Never Really Alone arrives in stark contrast to Parzen-Johnson’s 2020 We Jazz Records solo debut, Imagine Giving Up. Where Imagine Giving Up was celebrated for Parzen-Johnson’s ability to assemble deeply evocative electro-acoustic sound worlds, “filling the landscape in one element at a time until a picture emerges that could almost be a full band,” (Wire Magazine, March 2020) You’re Never Really Alone shows us that Jonah can look you in the eye and say “my voice alone is enough”. 

Across eight tracks, Parzen-Johnson, a Chicago native, explores the technical limits of his baritone saxophone and flute without ever making the listener feel like he has something to prove. You will find circular breathing, multiphonics, and explosive levels of sound, but more importantly, you will enjoy every moment of musical storytelling and compositional skill. This album is made for repeat listening. 

The opening track, “When I Feel Like Myself” is a meditative invocation of self realization. Parzen-Johnson summons three and four note harmonies from his saxophone with deep control, as he gently explores how tension can become its own release. An unadorned melodic thread gently weaves each musical expression to the last, guiding us deeper into an album that simultaneously celebrates the power of one, and the yearning for exploration that unites us all. 
credits
released March 8, 2024 

Composed and produced by Jonah Parzen-Johnson 
Mixed by Jonah Parzen-Johnson 
Mastered by Alex DeTurk at The Bunker in Brooklyn NY 
Design by Matti Nives

Named For You

There Is So Much I Regret

What They Love

The Courage Song

Everyone Is Somewhere

I'm Not Writing About This

There Is So Much I'm Afraid Of

When I Feel Like Myself

These songs are a certain kind of friendship music. Not the kind of friendship you have with people you’ve known forever. The kind of connection that comes fast and easy with someone you barely know but immedietely enjoy. Instant friendship. Berke and I have, in fact, only spent 5 days together over two meetings. But that doesn’t matter. We are instant friends.
released March 3, 2023

Berke Can Özcan - Percussion & Electronics
Jonah Parzen-Johnson - Baritone Saxophone & Electronics
Live Recording Engineered by Can Aykal
Cover Photo by Özge Balkan

Giant's Sleep & Roots were composed by Berke Can Özcan

Performed live at Borusan Muzik Evi in Istanbul, April 2022

Friendship Music for Turkey

Roots

Giant's Sleep

I make music with baritone saxophone and electronic instruments. I have a newsletter and that’s where I share stuff. I’d love it if you subscribed! Here’s the link: https://jonahpj.substack.com