Julian Davis Reid & CIRCLE OF TRUST to Mark MERCY WE NEED Release
The quintet will bring its spiritual, soulful jazz to Epiphany Center for the Arts and NuBlu.
Pianist-composer Julian Davis Reid and Circle of Trust will mark the release of their new album, MERCY WE NEED, with appearances in Chicago and New York. The quintet performs music described as spiritual, soulful, and inventive jazz — thought-provoking work that is soothing yet passionate.
The group features Julian Davis Reid (piano), Tramaine Parker (vocals), Lenard Simpson (alto sax), Ethan Philion (bass), and James Russell Sims (drums).
CD Release Events
Julian Davis Reid and Circle of Trust
Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 7:30PM
Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607, (312) 421-4600
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
NuBlu, 151 Loisaida Avenue, New York, NY 10009
Album Details
Artist: Julian Davis Reid and Circle of Trust
Title: MERCY WE NEED
Artist Website: https://www.juliandavisreid.com/
Release Date: September 25, 2026
Label: Too Lost Distribution
Tracklist
1. Not Yet Home 6:09 (July 31)
2. Her Care A Gift 5:55
3. Farewell, Hello Again 8:27 (Aug 21st)
4. Moan 6:13
5. Mercy We Need 6:15 (Sept 11)
6. It's Time, My Friend 8:06
7. What's Going On 9:53
8. Memory 4:32
Total album length: 55:30
Musicians: Julian Davis Reid (piano), Tramaine Parker (vocals), Lenard Simpson (alto sax), Ethan Philion (bass), James Russell Sims (drums).
Julian Davis Reid is a pianist, composer, speaker, writer, and the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest. On MERCY WE NEED, the second recording with his ensemble Circle of Trust, his group also includes alto saxophonist Lenard Simpson, bassist Ethan Philion, drummer James Russell Sims, and vocalist Tramaine Parker. They perform a set of stirring music that is described as 'cinematically exploring the mercies we know we need and those we can't name yet need nonetheless.'
The opener and album's first single, 'Not Yet Home,' has an infectious theme stated by Reid on piano throughout the piece in various forms. While mostly instrumental, it comes to a climax with the inclusion of an ethereal choir comprised of Tramaine Parker and Eva Supreme. Ms. Parker, who has a very attractive and powerful voice, is featured on the soulful 'Her Care A Gift,' 'Mercy We Need' (expressing grief and acceptance) which she co-wrote with Reid in tribute to her late mother Mama Millie Parker, 'Memory,' and the intense and passionate 'Moan' which is filled with her powerful wordless vocalizing.
The instrumentals (a peaceful yet explorative 'Farewell, Hello Again,' the folkish tune 'It's Time My Friend,' and 'What's Going On/Everybody Wants To Rule The World' which starts out out-of-tempo but builds up in momentum) feature strong melodies, a spiritual feel, and inventive solos by Reid and Simpson.
Julian Davis Reid was born and raised in Chicago where he grew up playing classical, gospel and jazz piano. At Yale College he took classes in music theory and earned a degree in philosophy. He later studied with Richard Johnson and Vincent Davis. Among his early musical experiences were leading a jazz trio and serving as keyboardist and musical director of the Black Church at Yale where he later served as a pastor. Reid was part of the New Haven jazz scene before moving to Atlanta for graduate school. He earned a Master of Divinity at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University where his thesis was on the theological implications of wordless improvisation. He taught and lectured at several schools, co-founded the band The JuJu Exchange (recording Exchange, The Eternal Boombox EP and BEHOLD), toured North America, Asia and Europe, was a member of Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, received favorable press from the Jazz Institute of Chicago and Chicago-Sun Times, and created music with artists from many genres from jazz and classical to hip-hop and gospel.
Now based back in Chicago, as a leader Julian Davis Reid has recorded Rest Assured (2021), Candid EP (2023), the solo piano album Beside Still Waters (2024), When Souls Cry Out (a duo project with Tramaine Parker from 2025), and the Circle of Trust's first full-length album Vocation (2025).
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