Toronto-based saxophonist, composer and educator Shirantha Beddage has announced the release of his new album, Departures, coming out on October 16 on Rhea Records, founded by celebrated bassist Jodi Proznick.
Departures is the JUNO-nominated artist’s fourth studio album as bandleader and the follow-up to 2017’s Momentum, which was nominated Jazz Album of the Year (Solo) at the 2017 JUNO Awards.
A collection of original and classic compositions, Departures centers on the themes of loss, discovery, transitions and new beginning shaped by major life events in Beddage’s life including the passing of his mother, starting a new job, embarking global travels with his family and exploring his identity as a second-generation Sri Lankan Canadian with British roots.
The album also includes ancient compositions derived from Sri Lankan folk poetry that was used as courtly music for the Kandayan kings in Sri Lanka for centuries. One of these compositions, “Musaladi Vannama,” was released as a single along with Beddage’s take on Vernon Duke’s “Autumn in New York.”
