O'GALLAGHER,JOHN
ANCESTRAL (180 GRAM) - LP

UPC: 5065014356722
Label: WHIRLWIND
Format: LP
Release Date: January 30, 2026
In stock items ship within 48 hours

'Ancestral' marks a profound metamorphosis for master
saxophonist John O'Gallagher. He cast off his old skin,
fundamentally altering his studies, homeland, and life, thereby
charting a new future. Recorded at Sound on Sound Studios in
Montclair, New Jersey, in January, 2024, 'Ancestral' was influenced,
in part, by O'Gallagher's PhD studies into the music of John Coltrane,
and reunites the versatile reeds player with guitarist Ben Monder
while, notably, features the first-ever recorded collaboration between
master drummers Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart.

"Basically, my PhD (available on O'Gallagher's website) is an analysis
where I transcribed all of Trane's solos, spelling out what he does on
his late recordings 'Interstellar Space' and 'Stellar Regions'. And it
shows that free music is not free, not the way people think it is. Trane
was definitely thinking about organization in those records. This
research definitely gave me ideas about how to be freer within the
systems that I had developed, and how to perceive them in a more
organic way."

O'Gallagher's latest recording marks a significant artistic evolution,
following a period of considerable personal change. After leaving
Brooklyn, New York, he and his wife relocated to the UK before
ultimately settling in Lisbon, Portugal. This journey, coupled with
dedicated study, profoundly shaped his new music.

In an album consisting largely of first takes, O'Gallagher's
compositions vary from through-composed pieces to skeletal charts
to full-blown group compositions/ improvisations.

TRACK LIST:

A1        Awakening    6:38
A2        Under The Wire    6:20
A3        Contact    5:36
A4        Tug    5:34
B1        Profess    4:37
B2        Altar Of The Ancestors    6:15
B3        Quixotica    4:40
B4        Postscript    4:53