'Ancestral' marks a profound metamorphosis for master

saxophonist John O'Gallagher. He cast off his old skin,

fundamentally altering his studies, homeland, and life, thereby

charting a new future. Recorded at Sound on Sound Studios in

Montclair, New Jersey, in January, 2024, 'Ancestral' was influenced,

in part, by O'Gallagher's PhD studies into the music of John Coltrane,

and reunites the versatile reeds player with guitarist Ben Monder

while, notably, features the first-ever recorded collaboration between

master drummers Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart.

"Basically, my PhD (available on O'Gallagher's website) is an analysis

where I transcribed all of Trane's solos, spelling out what he does on

his late recordings 'Interstellar Space' and 'Stellar Regions'. And it

shows that free music is not free, not the way people think it is. Trane

was definitely thinking about organization in those records. This

research definitely gave me ideas about how to be freer within the

systems that I had developed, and how to perceive them in a more

organic way."

O'Gallagher's latest recording marks a significant artistic evolution,

following a period of considerable personal change. After leaving

Brooklyn, New York, he and his wife relocated to the UK before

ultimately settling in Lisbon, Portugal. This journey, coupled with

dedicated study, profoundly shaped his new music.

In an album consisting largely of first takes, O'Gallagher's

compositions vary from through-composed pieces to skeletal charts

to full-blown group compositions/ improvisations.

1. Awakening

2. Under the Wire

3. Contact

4. Tug

5. Profess

6. Altar of the Ancestors

7. Quixotica

8. Postscript