ALDEN HELLMUTH - Tether

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German Jazz Prize winner Alden Hellmuth returns with second album Tether, an eight-track exploration of jazz, punk and freeform improvisation. In any band there is a constant push and pull. A state of tension and release between written music and improvisation, between leading and following each other. In the instinctive, unpredictable world of jazz, that push and pull can explode groups and compositions into entirely new forms, yet no matter how far each player might be stretched there is always something connecting them back to each other and back to the tune. A tether. For New York-based saxophonist and composer Alden Hellmuth, that innate sense of connection between bandmates and between the dual states of form and freedom is a crucial aspect of her creativity. Following her German Jazz Prize winning 2024 debut album Good Intentions, Hellmuth now returns with the aptly titled Tether, an eight-track exploration of jazz, punk and freeform improvisation that centers on the notion that regardless of how loud and unruly her band might get, the tether always ties the players back to the listener and their invigorating experience. Tether will be released via LEITER on limited edition vinyl and all digital platforms on June 26, 2026. “The record is a study in how to effectively write and communicate improvisational ideas,” she says. “We’re always bending and pulling to make something new out of the music in the present moment and even in the improvising world you have to stay tethered to other people in the band. All of us are connected.” Drawing on the free jazz double bass ensembles of Ornette Coleman and Andrew Hill, Tether sees Hellmuth enlist the thunderous ensemble of two innovative bassists, Logan Kane and Miller Wrenn, alongside drummer Justin Brown (Thundercat, Aja Monet) to deliver a suite of heavy low-end compositions. Panning each bassist left to right and playing off Wrenn’s and Kane’s distinct timbres, the resulting record veers from the frenetic rhythmic shuffle of opener Microfictions to the punk-inflected riotousness of Face The Wall, the meditative bass harmonics and textural melodies of Guesswork and the wonky polyrhythmic interchanges of the group’s take on the John Coltrane standard Satellite. Throughout, Hellmuth’s alto saxophone playing is bright, nimble and deeply felt, wreathing sharp lines through the heady bass-weight of her quartet to deliver a lead performance that only serves to uplift the group rather than subsume it in her virtuosity. “I want to challenge and push myself all the time,” she says. “There was a lot of energy behind the project and I hope people can feel that. It isn’t just a jazz record – the influences range from Anthony Braxton to Japanese punk bands like October Beaver to Deerhoof and we were just letting it all fly.” Show more