Joe Russo has announced a new project, Selcouth Quartet, featuring Stuart Bogie on saxophone, flute, clarinet, and keys, Jon Shaw on acoustic and electric basses, Jonathan Goldberger on acoustic and electric guitars, and Russo on drums, percussion, and keys. The band is set to make its debut with two shows in New York this summer before releasing a self-titled debut album in the fall.
“We’re so damn excited to announce the debut shows of @selcouthquartet !” Russo wrote in an announcement posted to social media. “This past January, we spent 5 days writing, improvising and arranging at @flokistudios_ in Iceland (along with our 5th member @djamesgoodwin ) and created the music for our forthcoming, self titled, debut album that will be released this fall on Floki Studios Records. These shows will be our first times performing these songs live!! We cannot wait to share all of this with the world and hope you’ll all join us for the beginning of what we think will be a long, action packed journey.”
The band’s debut performance will take place June 9th at The Falcon in Marlboro, NY. The concert is a “donation bucket show” but will require reservations. The quartet will then make its NYC debut the following night, June 10th, at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn.
Selcouth Quartet is Russo’s first new group since he launched Joe Russo’s Almost Dead in 2013. He originally rose to prominence as one half of the Benevento Russo Duo, which combined jazz, electronic, and rock, before joining the Grateful Dead family as a touring member of Furthur. He has continued contributing to different projects while leading JRAD, including a collaboration with Stuart Bogie’s Bogie Band last year. In 2019, Russo released his debut solo album, phér•bŏney.
Though Russo provided few details, the pair’s new project is likely to similarly draw on their roots as jazz improvisers. A description on the show event page calls the group “a dynamic and eclectic ensemble that defies easy categorization, blending intricate compositions with soaring improvisation to create a sound all it’s own.” It goes on to say the music “seamlessly drifts between hauntingly beautiful melodies, propulsive improvisation, expansive atmospheres, and towering sonic constructs,” “[bringing] together a wide range of influences to push what is possible in contemporary music.”
Tickets for Selcouth Quartet’s debut shows are on sale now. Availability is limited to just 150 and 200 tickets. Click here to register for the Marlboro show, and head here to purchase tickets for the Brooklyn show.
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