Colours Kenny Reichert

• 1 Colours 06:38
• 2 Belmont 06:22
• 3 Holes In The Dirt 06:50
• 4 The Prairie 07:47
• 5 Yin 06:36
• 6 Simi 04:44
• Total Runtime 38:57

Info zu Colours

On his new quintet record Colours, Chicago-based guitarist and composer Kenny Reichert presents six original pieces written during a residency at the Ragdale Foundation on the Skokie River Nature Preserve in Lake Forest, Illinois. Daily walks across the land shaped both the music's character and its unhurried sense of space, resulting in compositions that balance through-composed material with open improvisation.

"The environment at Ragdale played an important role," says Reichert. "This project felt like an opportunity to expand my writing into something more detailed and intentional. At its core, it's about finding a balance between structure and openness: music where the form is clear and the melody is memorable, while still leaving room for experimentation."

The quintet brings together musicians who have had a meaningful impact on Reichert's development as a player and composer. Trumpeter Russ Johnson, who moved to Wisconsin from New York in 2012, was an early influence and mentor and appears on Reichert's debut album, Interpretations (2015). Saxophonist Geof Bradfield, a fixture of the Chicago scene whose musicianship and mentorship of the city's younger musicians are equally well-regarded, recorded on Reichert's 2024 release Switch. Bassist Clark Sommers, one of the most in-demand players on the Chicago scene, joins Reichert for the first time on record. And drummer Devin Drobka, Reichert's most longstanding collaborator, has appeared on every one of his records since the two reconnected in Milwaukee in 2012 after time on the East Coast. "He has a deep understanding of my music and approach," says Reichert, "and our connection as musicians and friends runs through the core of this ensemble."

"I wrote the music for Colours with the band specifically in mind," says Reichert. "I needed musicians who could handle a wide range of tasks: playing over changes, odd meters, open improvisation, odd forms, and wide-reaching musical aesthetics, but also having a reverence for simplicity and melody. I knew everyone in the band was well-suited for all these tasks, which made it easy to compose the music freely."

The title track launches the proceedings with a driving 5/4 rock groove, Reichert's lyrical guitar solo keeping the energy forward-moving before the tenor solo opens up into freer territory, with Sommers weaving fleet-fingered countermelodies and Drobka and Bradfield building to an intense rhythmic dialogue. "Belmont" is grungy freebop named for one of the busiest streets in Reichert's Chicago neighborhood, Johnson balancing grace and fire as he navigates the musical traffic before the music morphs into a jagged, pointillistic interlude and Drobka's many-layered drum solo takes flight.

"Holes in the Dirt," a dirge for Chicago's seemingly endless construction season, showcases the dark, rich blend of Bradfield's bass clarinet and Johnson's trumpet over Reichert's expansive guitar sound. "The Prairie" is the album's most wide-open piece: an improvised soundscape gives way to a lovely Americana theme with echoes of Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, Sommers' soulful, full-toned solo evoking his mentor Charlie Haden.

"Yin," a jazz waltz with subtle surprises, finds Johnson once again walking the line between tradition and avant-garde. The album closes with "Simi," a beautiful ballad that serves as a vehicle for fluid, lyrical solos from Bradfield on bass clarinet and Reichert himself, leaving us with the warm, peaceful tones of Reichert's prairie inspiration.

"A distinctive player and composer with wide-ranging idiomatic inklings." — DownBeat

Kenny Reichert, electric guitar
Russ Johnson, trumpet
Geof Bradfield, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Clark Sommers, double bass
Devin Drobka, drums

Recorded April 8, 2024, at Rax Trax Recording, Chicago, IL
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Andy Shoemaker

Kenny Reichert
is a Chicago-based guitarist, composer, and bandleader. An active presence in the Midwest jazz scene, he leads his own ensembles and is a founding member of the organ trio Righteous Rooster.

Reichert has released four albums as a leader: Live In Chicago (Shifting Paradigm Records, 2026), Switch (Calligram Records, 2024), Deep Breath (Shifting Paradigm Records, 2023), and Interpretations (2015). His work emphasizes long-running musical relationships, original composition, and the space for a band to develop its own sound through performance.

DownBeat described Reichert as “a distinctive player and composer with wide-ranging idiomatic inklings,” while Textura called him a “triple threat” as a guitarist, bandleader, and writer. He was named a Luminarts Jazz Improvisation Fellow in 2022, and his work has received support from South Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.

In addition to leading his own groups, Reichert performs with Righteous Rooster, which holds a weekly late-night residency at Chicago's Green Mill, and with guitarist and vocalist Sara d'Ippolito Reichert as the duo Sara and Kenny. He has performed and recorded with musicians including Russ Johnson, Geof Bradfield, Lenard Simpson, Clark Sommers, Ethan Philion, Devin Drobka, and Ana Everling.

Originally from Wisconsin, Reichert has lived and worked in Milwaukee, Boston, London, Berlin, Minneapolis, and Chicago. He holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from DePaul University and has taught at Concordia University, St. Paul and Oklahoma State University. His work also includes music for television and media, with placements on NFL GameDay Kickoff, NFL Fantasy Live, Temptation Island, Single's Inferno, and Blood & Water.

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