A Slight Change of Plans

Life is full of twists and turns, and so is jazz. With A Slight Change of Plans, Alex Bayer crafts an album that mirrors life itself: unpredictable, richly textured, and brimming with imagination and lived experience. This is not just music—it’s a statement of artistic daring and emotional depth.

Drawing from the well of jazz history and the innovations of 20th-century composers like Igor Stravinsky and Olivier Messiaen, Bayer’s compositions pay homage while forging new paths. The inclusion of Paul Motian's "It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago" deepens the album's resonance, connecting its themes to the spirit of Paul Bley's Turning Point, a spiritual and creative touchstone for Bayer.

The quartet Bayer assembles is extraordinary. Alongside him on double bass, you’ll hear the lyrical, inventive saxophone of New Yorker Loren Stillman, the legendary drummer Bill Elgart—still astonishingly vibrant in his 80s—and the nuanced pianism of Berlin-based Max Arsava. Together, they weave a sonic tapestry of dynamic interplay and poetic textures, each voice shaping the album's singular "place" in sound.

From the crystalline beauty of "September 15th," where harmonic perspectives shift like a gem catching the light, to the melodic wanderlust of "Blam," and the hypnotic transformation of "Granular," each piece offers a journey. The striking "Obsidian" blends Stravinsky-inspired structures with Messiaen’s tonal landscapes, culminating in an improvisational vamp of ritualistic power.

This is the sound of slight changes, of plans altered and reborn. It is jazz at its most fearless and introspective, a record as alive and uncontainable as the art form itself. To experience the full spectrum of this unique project, you can purchase your copy here.