Ancestry, like music, is a concept inextricable from the passage of time. In music, each performance is a convergence of past (influence, experience, practice) and present (emotion, atmosphere, improvisation). Each one of us represents a similar convergence, as our very existence conveys the biological, genetic and experiential influences of our ancestors into our lived present. With his expansive new project, Ancestral Numbers, saxophonist, flutist and composer Jason Robinson translates his own family history into evocative musical form.

Ancestral Numbers II, due out October 8 via Playscape Recordings, is the second volume of music reflecting on his ancestry, following the May 2024 release of Ancestral Numbers I. Both volumes feature a superb quintet distilled from Robinson’s larger Janus Ensemble, with trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Ches Smith.

The inspiration for Ancestral Numbers was the final gift bestowed on Robinson by his maternal grandmother, Ruby Annette…