Experience double-bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick from Portico Quartet and saxophonist Jordan Smart and their new project during Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

Vega Trails is a new project from double-bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick, a founder member of Portico Quartet and features saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands, Sunda Arc) in a richly powerful duo bringing together two powerfully charismatic musicians. The project was born out of a desire to bring the elements of bass and melody to the foreground in their rawest form.

During Lockdown Milo Fitzpatrick immersed himself in music that had space and sparseness such as Swedish fiddle music and Indian Classical music. However, it was only after listening to Charlie Haden’s album of duets, ‘Closeness’, that the project would come into focus as a duo, and Fitzpatrick immediately knew that the second musician had to be Jordan Smart:

“I saw Jordan play at two Gondwana Record...

Experience double-bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick from Portico Quartet and saxophonist Jordan Smart and their new project during Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

Vega Trails is a new project from double-bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick, a founder member of Portico Quartet and features saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands, Sunda Arc) in a richly powerful duo bringing together two powerfully charismatic musicians. The project was born out of a desire to bring the elements of bass and melody to the foreground in their rawest form.

During Lockdown Milo Fitzpatrick immersed himself in music that had space and sparseness such as Swedish fiddle music and Indian Classical music. However, it was only after listening to Charlie Haden’s album of duets, ‘Closeness’, that the project would come into focus as a duo, and Fitzpatrick immediately knew that the second musician had to be Jordan Smart:

“I saw Jordan play at two Gondwana Records events – in Berlin and Tokyo. Both times I was mesmerised by the intensity and conviction of his playing. His commitment to the cause of transcending himself and the listener made a lasting impression on me”

Smart brought an openness and positivity and his ability to play tenor and soprano saxophone with equal command, as well as bass clarinet and Ney flute, allowed them to open up the pallet of sound and pull the melodies into varying emotional landscapes.

The result is Vega Trails, a project that brings together two open-mined and communicative musicians for the first time, to tell beautiful winding stories together and to create something soulful and new. Their debut album, Tremors in the Static, is released on Gondwana Records in May 2022....

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