Alden Hellmuth: Saxophone Tethered to a Galaxy of Bass

This week, we’re putting The Tonearm's needle on saxophonist and composer Alden Hellmuth. Alden grew up in Hartford, studying in the Jackie McLean tradition, and now works out of New York City.

Her new album is called Tether, and it features a band centered on two bass players, rounded out by drums, piano, and trumpet. Alden wrote music for the ensemble that keeps them all tied together, no matter how loud or free it gets.

We talked about our shared background in Connecticut, what she took from studying with Herbie Hancock, and how she writes for the specific people in the room.

(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Alden Hellmuth’s Tether)

—

Dig Deeper

Artist and Album:

• Visit Alden Hellmuth at aldenhellmuth.com and follow her on Instagram and YouTube
• Purchase Alden Hellmuth's album Tether from LEITER, Bandcamp, or Qobuz, and listen on your streaming platform of choice.

Collaborators:

• Logan Kane, bassist
• Miller Wrenn, bassist
• Justin Brown, drummer
• Paul Cornish, pianist, featured guest
• Yakiv Tsvietinskyi, trumpeter, featured guest

Label:

• LEITER, the Berlin label co-founded by Nils Frahm

Education and Mentorship:

• Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA
• Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School

Musical References:

• Jackie McLean, saxophonist and longtime Hartt faculty member
• Joe Morris, guitarist/improviser Hellmuth credits as an early gateway into improvised music
• Steve Lehman, saxophonist and composer, cited mentor
• Deerhoof, Breakup Song (2012)
• Otoboke Beaver, Japanese punk band

Venues:

• Real Art Ways, Hartford
• Non Plus Ultra, Los Angeles

—

• Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com

—

• Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it with a friend! You can also rate The Tonearm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

• Subscribe! Be the first to check out each new episode of The Tonearm in your podcast app of choice.

• Looking for more? Visit podcast.thetonearm.com for bonus content, web-only interviews + features, and the Talk Of The Tonearm email newsletter. You can also follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

• Be sure to bookmark our online magazine, The Tonearm! → thetonearm.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.