Ben Holmes - Naked Lore (2020)

“A soundtrack to the folk stories your grandparents vowed to forget”, Naked Lore is the brainchild of Ben Holmes, a trumpeter/composer who has worked with artists including Slavic Soul Party!, Vampire Weekend, Gogol Bordello and Cynthia Hopkins. His music conjures ancient sounds through the filter of 20+ years of study in jazz, klezmer, and classical music. Featuring master musicians Brad Shepik on guitar (Paul Motian, Dave Douglas, Charlie Haden, Carla Bley) and Shane Shanahan on percussion (Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Philip Glass), the trio seemingly travels through thousands of years of history while remaining firmly rooted in the present moment, veering from tightly composed occultist chamber jazz to wild improvisation with the speed of a darting snake’s tongue.