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From the onset of my move back to Houston/Texas in 2015, it may have been inevitable that Stefan, Aaron and I were going to establish a group and make music together. They are the offspring/direct lineage of Dennis Gonzalez, a Texas free jazz legend who had unlimited passion and energy; he was able to tour the world with his music, promoting it through self sustaining tours in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and early part of the 21st century- no mean feat. Through him, Stefan and Aaron gained experience through playing with masters such as Douglas Ewart, Alvin Fielder, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Oliver Lake. Likewise, I had experience of studies with Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, and Marcus Belgrave, and performances with Alvin Fielder, Vinny Golia, and Ra Kalam Bob Moses.
And yet, the group didn’t reach fruition until 6 years after that- we were all busy with our own projects, as well as curating shows in our respective cities. But coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we played an incredible show in Shreveport, LA as a part of David Nelson and Minicine Swampland’s concert series and the band was officially born. Aaron’s child Keir came up with the name FireLife Trio- fitting from the start. After Shreveport, we played a fair amount of Texas shows but still, getting a release together was a challenge. We were all busy with other various projects, on both national and international levels.
Finally we found a date- January 11th, 2025 at Ochre House Theater in Dallas. It was on! But 2 months before that, I developed a massive and very dramatic bulge in my left leg the size of a small fruit basket- it would eventually be diagnosed as non-hodgkins lymphoma, but I didn’t know that yet. Only that it was smashing up against nerves, bone, and hurt like a MF! But we pressed on with the show anyways, and it was, in my opinion, our best performance. And had an element of dark humor as well. I had to lean up against the wall and assume a “sexy sax man” kind of pose- it appeared to be posturing, but this was absolutely necessary as I was in a lot of pain from the bulge! This issue was solved later on in the evening by chugging 3 strong double IPA’s at the bar next door.
What you have here is a culmination of Firelife Trio’s work over the past 5 years, as well as one of the most dramatic concerts/recording sessions I have ever produced. Big thanks to Aubrey Seaton for her mastery, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten for believing in our music, and Ochre House Theater for hosting us.
-Danny Kamins, Houston, April 2026
Label: Sonic Transmission Records
Released in:
2026
Shipping from: Chicago
