Sunday, March 1st, 2025, 2:00 pm
Piano on Park Live presents:
Duo Ex Machina
RSVP with $20 Suggested Donation
Randal Despommier - saxophone
Jason Yeager - piano
The Duo Ex Machina, saxophonist Randal Despommier and pianist Jason Yeager, reunites at Piano on Park on March 1st for Cosmic Sketches, a concert honoring the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. The program features original compositions inspired by these two towering figures, alongside new arrangements of their music, sketching an arc across their evolving artistic visions.
The duo approaches this material as living music, using improvisation and interaction to reflect the restless curiosity, lyricism, and spiritual ethos that shaped both artists’ work. Themes rooted in their shared musical language, moving from lyric restraint to open, searching forms, are reimagined through a contemporary lens, tracing a path toward intensity and transcendence.
Set in an intimate space, Cosmic Sketches offers a fresh perspective on two musicians whose work reshaped the language of jazz and still gestures toward the future.
About Randal Despommier
A multi-genre musician from New Orleans whose tone “occasionally recalls Paul Desmond and, at his most passionate, late-period Art Pepper” (DownBeat), alto saxophonist Randal Despommier has captivated audiences at venues including Carnegie Hall (Weill), Bar Bayeux, Qintai Concert Hall in China, Lilla Jazzfestivalen, Soapbox Gallery, Dram, and Smalls with the Jason Yeager Quintet.
Despommier released his debut album Dio C’è on Outside In Music in 2021 to critical acclaim. “Impressive in his debut as leader” (OffBeat), the record features his quartet and showcases Grammy-winning bassist Jimmy Haslip as both guest artist and co-producer, along with vocalist Aubrey Johnson. His follow-up, A Midsummer Odyssey (Sunnyside Records)—a tribute to Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin—deepens his exploration of narrative and atmosphere. Featuring celebrated avant-garde guitarist Ben Monder, the album earned Despommier a nomination for “Best Contemporary Jazz Artist” from OffBeat.
Despommier’s latest album, South, released on Sunnyside Records, is both a musical homecoming and a tribute to his New Orleans roots. Featuring Crescent City legends Johnny Vidacovich, David Torkanowsky, James Singleton, and his father Phil Despommier as guest artists, South blends reverence and originality in equal measure. As Dan Bilawsky writes, “New Orleans is inextricably linked to Randal Despommier's sound and sense of self, and he pays due respect with this highly agreeable appreciation… A sincerely felt musical homecoming, South is remarkably satisfying from every angle.”
Whether through his genre-defying compositions, lyrical saxophone tone, or collaborations with artists across jazz, classical, and global traditions, Despommier continues to carve a unique path—bridging worlds and honoring his New Orleans roots in search of new sonic possibilities.
Socials: @rdespommier
About Jason Yeager
What do Kurt Vonnegut, Thelonious Monk, and Latin American folk music have in common? All find their way into the music of award-winning pianist/composer Jason Yeager. An adroit and sensitive accompanist as well as an imaginative soloist and bandleader, Jason has released seven critically acclaimed albums of original music, including Hand in Hand (Club 44 Records) with his spouse and Broadway star Julie Benko, and Unstuck in Time: the Kurt Vonnegut Suite (Sunnyside) with his eponymous septet and special guest Miguel Zenón. His music has been featured in Down Beat, The New York Times, Jazz Times, and the Boston Globe. In October 2024, Sunnyside Records will release Yeager’s eighth recording, Sanctuary, a collaborative effort with virtuoso jazz violinist Jason Anick.
Jason has performed across six continents, at such storied venues as Carnegie Hall, Birdland, the Blue Note, and the Panama Jazz Festival. In addition to his work as a bandleader, Yeager has recorded on over 30 additional albums and performed with such luminaries as Sean Jones, George Garzone, and Luciana Souza. An honors graduate of the Tufts/New England Conservatory Double Degree Program and the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Jason is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at Berklee College of Music and adjunct instructor at MIT.
Socials: @jyeagermusic