The self titled debut album by visionary Amsterdam-based ensemble Stargazers!
Drawing on the spiritual, freedom-driven sound of 60s/70s Black jazz, Stargazers breathes new life into the introspective, quietly crafted and previously hidden musical diary of the ensemble’s orchestrator, saxophonist, flautist and composer, Finn Peters.

Released as a direct-to-disc live album, Stargazers marks Peters’debut in Night Dreamer’s prestigious direct-to-disc series, joining the ranks of Emma-Jean Thackray, Gary Bartz & Maisha, Sarathy Korwar, and Knoel Scott featuring Marshall Allen. Like all entries in the series, it was recorded live at Artone Studios, cut straight to vinyl with no overdubs, bringing to life the highwire musicianship of the group.

From the meditative deep jazz of ‘Loempia’ to the spaced-out astral improvisation of the title track, Stargazers presents a fluent and poised collection of originals and spiritual jazz interpretations that take the legacies of John Coltrane and Sun Ra—whose “Theme of the Stargazers” inspired the title—into shimmering new realms. Looking to the sky for inspiration, Peters blends personal compositions such as “91 Ships” with tributes like “Clifford Jordan,” paying homage to the lineage of saxophonists who came before him.

For Peters, the album comes off the back of a period of intense personal growth. Having built a potent reputation as a session player (and featuring on hundreds of records) for the likes of Steve Reid, Matthew Herbert, Kaidi Tatham, Zero 7, and dub legend Scientist (on whose Night Dreamer session Peters worked), the Devon-born saxophonist took a self-imposed sabbatical, returned to nature for inspiration and moved to Amsterdam. It is a trajectory elaborated on by Paul Bradshaw in the album’s liners, which trace Peters’ journey to reestablishing himself in a city whose jazz history has roots in Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.

Alongside rhythm section siblings Yoran and Yariv Vroom, bassist Jeroen Vierdag, Timothy Blanchet on keys and Gideon Tazelaar’s tenor sax, Peters set out fashioning a new record that would represent both his range of influences, the kinetic interplay of his consummate improvisors and the versatility of his own playing on alto sax, flute and Moog[info sheet from distr.]