Dennis Mitcheltree Releases LAPIS LAZULI Single Ahead of SEEING RED Album
The quartet recording features Johannes Wallmann, Jesse Crawford and Bill McClellan alongside Mitcheltree on tenor saxophone.
'Lapis Lazuli', the first single from Dennis Mitcheltree's upcoming album, Seeing Red, is available to stream and download on all platforms as of August 21, 2026.
Saxophonist/composer Dennis Mitcheltree presents the follow-up to Golden Rule, titled Seeing Red, played by Mitcheltree's longstanding quartet of Dennis Mitcheltree on tenor saxophone, Johannes Wallmann on piano, Jesse Crawford on bass and Bill McClellan on drums. The album is available October 2, 2026 on Dengor Music (DCD 251215). Saxophonist/composer Dennis Mitcheltree's new recording, his eighth as a leader, Seeing Red, is boiling over with strong emotions, expressed by strong players whose playing is fueled by the breadth of their life experience. In today's sociopolitical world, red is seen everywhere: the angry faces on social feeds, on matters of political opinion, alerts of danger, tribal headgear, and those who believe they are the only true color of blooded Americans. Red is perceived as the color of destruction, which can be a precursor to transformation, just ask Shiva. However, existence within a limited color range is not the full experience, it's myopic and constraining, and ultimately unnatural and unfulfilling.
Conversely, 'music is not monochromatic. It is capable of utilizing all the colors of the visible and invisible spectrum, with infinite sonic colors representing collaboration, cooperation, understanding and empathy, all available on our prodigious musical palette, giving us the potential to illuminate how we are bound together as one,' explained Mitcheltree.
Ancient cultures believe the universe to have been created through sound vibration - that sound is the expression of ultimate reality. This notion is backed up in modern physics through the notion of string theory, postulating that matter, at its quantum level, is produced by interacting oscillations in higher-dimensional spacetime.
'Personal experience at the sonic level confirms to me it's capacity to affect the physical, the cognitive, the communicative, the social and the spiritual realms of existence. When you hear this music, please think on this … it is related to the sound of our universe being constructed,' said Mitcheltree.
Dennis Mitcheltree's Quartet, featuring pianist Johannes Wallmann, bassist Jesse Crawford and drummer Bill McClellan, have been playing music together for several decades, and, 'have become personally simpatico and musically empathetic. We've toured the world and working together is never a struggle as we trust each other on a deep and instinctual level. The Golden Rule is followed when we play music - treating each other as we wish to be treated: with respect, freedom, and joy,' explains Mitcheltree.
He continues, 'in collaboration each musician brings their individuality to the music and allowing them to do so makes the music better. When I embrace my bandmate's contributions I find that the music can go places I hadn't imagined. We have our own individual lives and projects, but when we perform together a unique entity is formed. What we create together is more powerful and beautiful than any single contribution. We think the results are wonderful, and hope you do as well!'
Regarding the fearless leader on Seeing Red, Mitcheltree's tenor playing is chock-a-block with ideals, convictions and passions – you're hearing an artist who 'speaks' directly, eloquently and purposefully, with great melodicism and harmonic sophistication. Nancy Lee said of Mitcheltree in JazzTimes Magazine, 'the saxophonist is aggressively adventurous and most expressive...Mitcheltree evokes hearty tones from his instrument as he masterfully interweaves unexpected lines to create fascinating sound tapestries at any tempo'. Michael G. Nastos called Mitcheltree's tenor, 'soulful, swinging and street smart' (AllMusicGuide), and Martin Johnson called Mitcheltree 'one of the area's best young tenor players...His album 'Brooklyn' is one of the better records of the last two years' (Newsday).
Dennis Mitcheltree on the compositions and recording
1 - Far Left - most people believe the title is a reference to political ideology…but tenor saxophonists know that it's all you need to play the melody of this slow blues.
2 - Lapis Lazuli - a seamless mix of 3/4 and 4/4 time interwoven through the form, with a conventional sounding unconventional harmonic foundation. Lapis Lazuli is a metamorphic stone of the deepest blue…symbolizing wisdom, truth and self-awareness.
3 - Undocumented Language - music is a language, and performing it with the calibre of Johannes, Jesse and Bill is like having an intense conversation…one that is simultaneously full of meaning, yet impossible to write down. It must be experienced to be understood.
4 - 911 - I lived in NYC on September 11, 2001. That day, this composition spontaneously combusted within me, begging to be released.
5 - Mortal Coil - a poetic phrase attributed to Shakespeare. The 'shuffling off' of which consists of shedding the physical body and all its earthly foibles to a place of pure soul.
6 - Maitri - a Sanskrit term that is the root of all compassion. Loving-kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity for yourself and all other beings.
7 - Tai Time - written for my 16 year old son, Tai, who is a saxophonist with the potential for musical skills far beyond my own. Hard driving, deep, fast…and a bit quirky.
8 - Brooklyn - it's a person and a place, reflective of one of the deepest and soul wrenching experiences of my lifetime. This music burst from me while undergoing the experience – it wrote itself.
All compositions by Dennis Mitcheltree, BMI ©&℗ 2026. Recorded December 15, 2025 at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, New York City. Engineered and mixed by David Stoller at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio. Mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two. Graphic design by Christopher Drukker.
Tour Dates
September 16 - Silvana, NYC
September 17 - Smalls, NYC
September 18 - The Five Spot, NYC
September 19 - Bad Therapy Bar, Brooklyn, NY
September 20 - The Connect Bar, Jamaica, NY
October 7 - Bird and Beckett, San Francisco, CA
October 8 - Soundroom, Oakland, CA
October 9 - Mr. Tipples, San Francisco, CA
October 10 - Meyhouse Jazz, San Ramon, CA
December 20 - The G Spot, Los Angeles, CA
