Sunnyside Records (SSC 4040)

All selections composed and arranged by Armen Donelian (BMI) except where noted*

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Armen Donelian | Piano
Dominique Eade | Voice
Ed Neumeister | Trombone
Jay Anderson | Bass
Dennis Mackrel | Drums

  1. Beyond (Donelian)

  2. Somewhere* (Bernstein/Sondheim)

  3. Blkue In Green* (Evans/Davis/Wilson)

  4. Dark Moon* (Beethoven/Donelian)

  5. What Is (Donelian)

  6. Inverted Reality (Donelian)

  7. Weeping Willow (Donelian)

  8. Too Soon Gone (Donelian)

  9. Aqua Reminiscence (Donelian/Eade/Anderson/Mackrel)

CREDITS

Producer: Armen Donelian
Recorded, Edited, and Mixed 2020-2024
Recording Engineer: Dave Cook, Area 52 Studio, Saugerties, NY
Mastering Engineer: Katsuhiko Naito, Brooklyn, NY
Piano Technician: Sal Maneri, Tivoli, NY
Cover Art: Raquel Rabinovich, “Dimension Five 20”
Liner Design: Marc Mommaas
Executive Producer: Francois Zalacain

PRESS

The New York City Jazz Record (June 2026)

In Armen Donelian’s thirteenth album in over three decades for Sunnyside (the label founded in 1982 by François Zalacain), the Brooklyn-born pianist presents an unusual, highly personal project. What began as an introspective solo piano study, gradually morphed into a somber studio inquiry, enlisting four bandmates, often in layered overdubs, intense in its fathomless darkness and somber in its grief.

Donelian values his piano sound as “a refuge, a safety zone, a spacious place where soul-searching is welcomed and supported.” His music expresses gratitude towards his mentors, notably late piano innovator Richie Beirach (1947-2026), deep thanks to soulful colleagues, and righteous disdain towards immoral politicians. Piano solos lead us in: from “Beyond”, a simple, deep melody, possibly a rear- view coda to his 60-year career, laced with gravity and sadness, to “Somewhere” (Bernstein’s West Side Story anthem), which summons a flutter of birdsong from Messaien’s Catalogue des Oiseaux.

From that point, most tracks feature Donelian’s trio—with Jay Anderson (bass) and Dennis Mackrel (drums)—formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as Donelian’s calm demeanor and principled interpretations once applied soothing balm for saxophonist Billy Harper and percussionist Mongo Santamaria, today his chosen collaborators reflect styles arching towards congenial introspection and mutual empathy. Miles Davis/Bill Evans’ iconic “Blue in Green” welcomes Dominique Eade, a vocalist of rare expressive depth, who, after a warm bass solo, reinterprets Cassandra Wilson’s lyrics exquisitely. “Aqua Reminiscence”, untethering Anderson and Eade, floats free as its spacy stepchild, “Dark Moon”, which is a bizarre, minor-key transformation of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” into a wasted battlefield, trod by longtime colleague Ed Neumeister as a haunted survivor, wielding his trombone with plunger or hat mute. “What Is” is a blithely skipping 6/8 tribute to meditation practice, pentimentos all around. “Petite Triste”, a wistful waltz à la Nino Rota, unites Mackrel’s brushed cymbals, Donelian’s glissandi and an echoey Eade. “Weeping Willow” pairs two piano parts with bass in mixing session magic as haunting as Twin Peaks. “Too Soon Gone” is an austere solo salute to yvonne Ervin, the late, ebullient, tireless jazz advocate and presenter, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 59. For his deep-dive centerpiece “Inverted Reality”, Donelian summons all to a swirling musical maelstrom, quietly commending political outrage at rampant greed and flagrant humanitarian indignities. (Bouchard)

Jazz Journal (UK) (June 25, 2026)

Pianist Armen Donelian’s latest album – his 15th – has an interesting back story. It started life in 2020 as a solo piano project featuring his new compositions, but, after much listening and reflecting, Donelian overdubbed new piano parts on to some tracks in 2022 in order to enhance their harmonies and strengthen their inner melodies, to, in a sense, “orchestrate” them. His intention was somewhat akin to Bill Evans’s overdubbed Conversations With Myself album. Two years later he invited vocalist Dominque Eade, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Dennis Mackrel to add some more overdubs. That quartet then recorded Blue In Green, the only live ensemble track on this set, and its related Aqua Reminiscence, extracted from the solo section of an alternate take. A few months later, Donelian then asked trombonist Ed Neumeister to add some finishing touches to Dark Moon and Inverted Reality. All this work took place for Donelian during a period of intense personal change, as he turned the pages and felt lost in life. So, does it all hold together? 
From the very first notes of the opening, pensive Beyond, the answer is decidedly yes. Nothing here is ever hurried or taken at the wrong tempo. Pitch and timing are exquisite throughout, the whole set coherent and complete. The slow theme of the Bernstein Sondheim classic Somewhere is accompanied by a tinkling backdrop that adds its own magic as the theme becomes more abstracted. Blue In Green benefits from Cassandra Wilson’s lyrics, in contrast to the solo piano treatment of Dark Moon, a contrafact of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, over which trombonist Neumeister growls and croons in protest at the current baleful state of the American nation. More political responses surface in the lengthy Inverted Reality, an 11-minute arc of solo piano and its instrumental orchestration. The other tracks are equally bittersweet and poignant, the requiem Too Soon Gone heartrending in its pathos.
Donelian ends his sleeve notes stating that this album “expresses my love for the piano sound as a refuge, a zone of safety, a spacious place where soul-searching is welcomed and supported”. He concludes “I invite the listener to enter this place of unrelenting musical introspection, to rest, listen, and perhaps find a way home.” Accept his invitation, and feel restored.  (Adams)