Grammy-nominated John Raymond and Sean Carey perform from debut album at FAR Center

It's intense. It's mellow. An oxymoron yes, but Grammy-nominated John Raymond and S. (Sean) Carey have released their debut collaborative album,“Shadowlands,” with songs recorded in a Wisconsin forest. It both stimulates and settles.

Along with local promoter Bloomington Roots, the musicians will host a "Shadowlands" release party Oct. 6 at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts.

Raymond, a trumpeter and faculty music professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, lends his improvisational, unforced style to Carey's (Bon Iver drummer and vocalist) heat. Attract a few additional high-quality musicians and you get a fetching blast of new-era jazz, indie folk, jungly pop and electronic sizzle.

In the first bars of the song "Transient," Raymond's trumpet glides over Carey's brushes to chilling effect. Then, the vocals come in, like a swath of silk. Carey’s singing is whispery against Raymond’s foxy horn. Here and there throughout the CD, acoustic marries electronic. A collection-of-eclectic is born, as of the release date, Sept. 15, on Libellule Editions label.

Raymond and S. Carey performed together for almost two decades, since studying music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Each received training in jazz and classical music, but their careers diverged. Carey not only joined Bon Iver, but also worked with pros such as Sufjan Stevens and Bruce Hornsby. He released four CDs of his own, receiving praise from Pitchfork, NPR and others.

S. Carey, in addition to playing with Bon Iver, plays several instruments and writes his own songs on the Jagjaguwar label, a Bloomington company.

More Bloomington roots

One of the coolest parts is an additional — along with Raymond's teaching at Jacobs School — Bloomington bond. Bloomington is the home of the reputable American independent record label Jagjaguwar. Before Bloomington, Darius Van Arman founded the company in 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Staff have worked with notable artists such as Cut Worms, Dinosaur Jr. and Bon Iver. In 2012, Jagjaguwar won the American Association of Independent Music’s "Label of the Year."

Speaking of "cool," Raymond said over the phone with an audible smile, "We're too cool to be nerds," in response to the duo being referred to as jazz nerds.

Raymond, who plays trumpet, flugelhorn and synthesizers on "Shadowlands," became a (Grammy-nominated) trumpeter and composer “steering jazz in the right direction”(music magazine "Downbeat"), released eight albums and grabbed accolades from The New York Times, Stereogum and others.

Reunited and it sounds so good

In 2019, Raymond and Carey got back together and tried fusing their art. Carey, bringing lyrics, also helped shape Raymond's visualizations into songs.

Producer Sun Chung (previously of ECM Records) joined the effort, and together they hired impressive musicians to add texture and force.

"We looked for jazz musicians who could play other music, too," Raymond said. He met with pianist Aaron Parkes in New York. "There is no pianist more perfect for this."

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Raymond calls the additional instrumentalists his and Carey's "second batch" of musicians, and they recorded together in the same studio, a joy for Raymond and Carey.

An effective duo needs to complement each other. Raymond said while Carey brought color, instrument choice and the sonic part, Raymond himself contributed arrangements and composition.

"I learned a lot from (Carey). He also refined my compositional elements."

What Oct. 6 attendees will hear at the FAR center

"Shadowlands" listeners may get wide-eyed over the jazzy parts of the CD. "It's on the cutting edge," Raymond said. "It's not straight-ahead jazz. Jazz today is a more diverse palette."

The FAR Center event will be almost "like a hometown show," with songs from "Shadowlands" mixed in with others, performed by Raymond, Carey and three of the CD's other musicians.

A humble star

Whether or not Raymond's Jacobs School students will learn of "Shadowlands" is unclear, as Raymond demurred, saying, "I don't want to bash them over the head with my career." If they happen to discover the album on their own, he said that would be enough. And, again there was that smile in his voice.

If you go

WHAT: Hand Picked Music Series: Release party for John Raymond's and S. Carey's new CD, "Shadowlands," with special guest author Ross Gay

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 6

WHERE: FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, 505 W. Fourth St.

TICKETS: $20, available online at https://tinyurl.com/544kxmf6 or at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater box office at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: John Raymond, Bon Iver's Sean Carey perform debut album in Bloomington