Alison Shearer - View from Above (2022)

Saxophonist Alison Shearer’s debut album makes a statement. A statement about loss, and struggle, and the restorative power of music. Written soon after the passing of her father, famed photojournalist John Shearer, "View From Above" transports the listener to that liminal space between sky and earth, where the light shimmers and mundane matters seem small and far away.

Alison’s music is a study in contrasts: jagged, kaleidoscopic rhythms are paired with soaring, lyrical melodies and the rich timbres of saxophone, flute, cello, and voice are paired with electric guitar and bass, synthesizers, rhodes, and drum set. The music is textural, integrating shifting contours and metric modulations yet it remains groovy and aesthetically pleasing.