Future Days Recordings, an imprint of acclaimed archival label Light in the Attic, proudly announces the long-awaited reissue of Pete Jolly’s 1970 masterpiece, Seasons, on vinyl for the first time in over 50 years. Sought after by crate-diggers, DJs, and jazz aficionados alike, as well as sampled by everyone from Jay Dee and Cypress Hill to Busta Rhymes, the album was far ahead of its time and a stylistic departure for Jolly, full of atmospheric grooves and soulful vignettes like “Springs,” “Leaves,” “Sand Storm,” and “Plummer Park.” Produced by Herb Alpert (who originally released the album on his label A&M Records), Seasons also features a who’s who of session musicians, including the Wrecking Crew’s Chuck Berghofer and Milt Holland, plus Emil Richards, Paul Humphrey, and John Pisano.
Due out March 29th and available to pre-order, Seasons has been remastered from its original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at RTI on two special color variants: clear amber and clear light green. Rounding out the album are insightful new liner notes by music journalist Dave Segal (The Stranger, Pitchfork, Aquarium Drunkard), who interviewed Alpert and Berghofer about their memories of Jolly.
Two-time GRAMMY®-nominee Pete Jolly (1932 – 2004) was a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist whose work on the piano, organ, and accordion, in particular, could be heard on classic West Coast jazz albums, as well as on countless TV and film scores–including M*A*S*H, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Clint Eastwood’s Charlie Parker biopic Bird, during which he faithfully recreated Bud Powell’s piano performances with the legendary horn player.
Seasons was certainly far ahead of its time and, today, remains a wholly original gem. Electronic, yet organic. Freeform, yet brimming with complex melodic themes. Throughout the album, Jolly and his fellow musicians float between jazz and pop, as they paint evocative aural sceneries. From the dreamy opening bars of “Leaves” (starring Jolly on a delicate, reverb-heavy Fender Rhodes), it’s clear to listeners that they’re about to embark on a transcendent musical meditation. Decades later, the track would spark the imagination of acts like De La Soul, Cypress Hill, and Redman–all of whom reimagined “Leaves” in their own works.
While Seasons never had significant commercial success upon its release, it has since amassed a cult following, leading collectors to pay top dollar for copies of the rare record. Out of print since 1971, it has only been reissued once on CD. Segal puts the album’s massive demand in perspective: “British label owner Jonny Trunk put up an original pressing of the LP for sale for an undisclosed but large sum on Instagram in January 2023, and it sold in five minutes.”
“With ‘Seasons’ back in circulation, maybe Pete Jolly will finally gain the broader audience that his phenomenal skills merit,” writes Segal. “If nothing else, it serves as a valuable lesson to artists: venturing outside of your comfort zone can bring the most interesting, enduring results.”
Will you be adding Pete Jolly’s Seasons to your vinyl collection?
