Waypeople

Wellington-based saxophonist and composer Jake Baxendale brings together a remarkable collective of Aotearoa's leading jazz and contemporary musicians for Waypeople, a luminous new album inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin's English-language version of the Tao Te Ching. Drawing from jazz, Chinese classical music and improvisation, the project fuses lyrical storytelling with meditative textures and powerful ensemble interplay.

Featuring Chelsea Prastiti (voice), Jia Ling (Jessie) (guzheng), Callum Passells (saxophones), Daniel Hayles (piano & vibraphone), Johnny Lawrence (double bass), and Cory Champion (drums), Waypeople transforms the timeless Taoist philosophy of harmony, balance, and paradox into sound. The result is a work of shimmering beauty - grounded in jazz but alive with the rhythm of ancient poetry and the pulse of contemporary life.

Recorded at Massey University Studio in Wellington and Genie Bottle Studio in Auckland, Waypeople captures the ensemble's dynamic range - from meditative intimacy to ecstatic collective improvisation. Guest appearances include Louisa Williamson (flute), Kaito Walley (trombone), Ben Hunt (trumpet), JY Lee (flute), and Millie Manins (oboe).

Originally from rural Yorkshire and raised in Golden Bay, Jake Baxendale has become one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most distinctive creative voices. His work spans performance, composition and education, with collaborations across the USA, South Korea, Germany, Australia and Canada. Recognised by the Aotearoa Music Awards, APRA/AMCOS NZ, and Creative New Zealand, Baxendale's projects - including Gardening Music and Waypeople - explore connections between sound, philosophy, and the natural world. His music reflects the freedom, humility and communal spirit of the landscapes he grew up in - a "little country without too many people," as described in the Tao.

1: Taoing
2: Mindful of Little Things
3: Being Different
4: Techniques
5: Soul Food
6: Celebrating Mystery (Intro)
7: Celebrating Mystery
8: Against War (Intro)
9: Against War
10: Freedom
11: Children of the Way
12: Dim Brightness

Number of Discs: 1

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