Growing up in an urban environment could lead to obliviousness to the natural world. Having grown up in a rural environment, saxophonist/composer Jeremy Udden was very aware of nature but living in metropolises made him seek nature’s touch in the city’s midst. Udden’s children have grown up in Brooklyn and he is frequently amazed at how attuned to nature his city kids are, just one of the intriguing juxtapositions he reflects in his new recording, Wishing Flower.

The music that Udden writes is generally autobiographical and focuses on the influences of his rural Massachusetts upbringing and maturation in the urban environments of Boston and New York City. Udden’s life has changed a lot since his debut recording, Torchsongs, nearly twenty years ago. Among these changes were the births of his two daughters, whose experiences as urban children has affected Udden’s perceptions of the world around him.

For his new recording, Udden used the inspiration of his children and their daily walks from school to write new compositions that reflect the sounds of the city through Udden’s singular musical lens, which blends the pastoral sounds of folk and country with contemporary jazz. Coming full circle, Udden recruited guitarist Ben Monder and drummer Ziv Ravitz to revisit their ensemble roles from Torchsongs, along with longtime collaborator, bassist Jorge Roeder