ELLEN ROWE QUARTET RETURNS WITH VINTON’S COVE – A DEEPLY PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF NATURE, MUSIC, AND HUMAN CONNECTION
OUT NOVEMBER 21, 2025 VIA SMOKIN’ SLEDDOG RECORDS
Smokin’ Sleddog Records announces the release of Vinton’s Cove, the new album from pianist and composer Ellen Rowe, available November 21, 2025. The album features six original compositions by Rowe, recorded with her quartet and special guest vocalist Sunny Wilkinson, showcasing a range of jazz styles. Drawing on her extensive background as both educator and performer, Rowe also presents arrangements of jazz and pop standards that cast them in a slightly different light, interpreting them through varied harmonic approaches and diverse musical feels. Recorded with close friends and musical kindred spirits, Vinton’s Cove represents Rowe’s work as both composer and bandleader.
The album’s genesis reflects the profound influence of place and community on Rowe’s artistic vision. Named after a small cove on Kezar Lake where her family maintains a cabin built in the mid-1950s, Vinton’s Cove serves as both geographic anchor and inspiration for several of the original compositions. Rowe, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Jazz & Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan, found herself motivated to create music that could provide “balm for wounded souls” during increasingly challenging times. Several pieces were written at the Maine cabin itself, while others were specifically crafted to showcase the individual voices of her carefully chosen collaborators.
The Ellen Rowe Quartet consists of Rowe on piano and Mike Sakash on soprano and alto saxophone, supported by the dynamic rhythm section of Dennis Carroll on bass and Pete Siers on drums. Vocalist Sunny Wilkinson is featured as a special guest, contributing her unique voice to two of the selections. This ensemble represents both long-standing musical partnerships—Siers has appeared on all but one of Rowe’s previous albums—and newer collaborations that have flourished over the past five years. Support from the University of Michigan enabled Rowe to bring Carroll from Chicago and Sakash from New Hampshire for performances throughout the year and the album’s recording sessions.
Musically, Vinton’s Cove showcases Rowe’s versatility as a composer and arranger through a compelling variety of styles—from reflective ballads and slow straight eighth grooves to medium and up-tempo swingers, and samba grooves. Her warm, singing touch on piano—captured using her 1905 rebuilt Steinway that has been in the family since the mid-1940s—serves as the album’s unifying thread, while her keen harmonic imagination drives compositions that feel both inevitable and surprising across diverse tempos and moods. The recording took place at Willis Sound in Willis, Michigan, a renovated church featuring Blue Note-style reverb plates in the basement, lending the album a distinctive room sound that enhances its organic, conversational quality.
The album opens with “The Loons of Vinton’s Cove,” the title track that pays tribute to a pair of Common Loons that return each year to attempt nesting in the cove, despite constant challenges from predators and environmental factors. Rowe, an avid birder, captures both the hope and pathos of these yearly attempts while honoring the “Loon Rangers,” volunteers who build floating nests and provide advocacy for the lake’s loon population. The piece establishes the album’s central theme of resilience and connection to the natural world.
“Refractions” examines the various ways in which light diffuses as it passes through water or a prism, with Rowe translating this physical phenomenon into musical terms, exploring how “a single note can seemingly refract, change color or resolve depending on its harmonic function”. Mike Sakash’s exquisite soprano saxophone work perfectly captures the piece’s contemplative mood and demonstrates the group’s commitment to space and transparency.
The album’s more playful side emerges in “Clipped In Blues,” inspired by Rowe’s embarrassing bicycle mishap while standing still, chatting with a neighbor. This blues highlights the ensemble’s sense of humor through dynamic interplay and conversational duo interactions.
A highlight of the album is Kenny Wheeler’s “Kind Folk,” honoring Kenny as one of her musical heroes and featuring Dennis Carroll’s bass and Mike Sakash’s alto saxophone. Wheeler’s influence on Rowe’s harmonic thinking can be heard on several of her other compositions, as can the inspiration of pianist Bill Evans.
The album includes two stunning vocal features with Sunny Wilkinson. “The Phoenix”—written in response to complaints from a friend that Rowe only composed “sad songs”—showcases both Wilkinson’s gifts as a lyricist as well as her remarkable improvising. The duo performance of “Sylvan Way,” the very first composition Rowe committed to paper, and one written at the Maine cabin on Vinton’s Cove, celebrates their musical partnership and friendship while featuring lyrics by Wilkinson that perfectly capture the piece’s emotional intent.
Rowe’s arrangements of classic material demonstrate her ability to find fresh approaches to familiar territory. Her treatment of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” is undertaken with “great love and respect,” while “All The Things You Are” receives a clever twist through Rowe’s reversal of the time-honored Parker/Gillespie introduction. The album closes with “I’ll Remember April,” featuring new harmonic changes contributed by Dennis Carroll that demonstrate the collaborative spirit pervading the entire project.
Ellen Rowe brings impressive credentials to this latest project. The recipient of two named Professorships at the University of Michigan, she maintains an active performance and composition/arrangement career with six albums as a leader to her credit and performances with both her “Momentum” octet and her own quartet at festivals and venues including The Amazonas Jazz Festival in Brazil, Detroit Jazz Festival, Summer Solstice Festival, Dizzy’s Club and the Jazz Education Network Conference. Her compositions and arrangements have been performed by ensembles including the Village Vanguard Orchestra, BBC Jazz Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra and are published by Excelsia, Sierra, Brava and Kendor Publications. Previous albums include “Sylvan Way,” “Wishing Well,” “Denali Pass,” “Courage Music,” and 2020’’s “Momentum – Portraits of Women In Motion.”
With Vinton’s Cove, Ellen Rowe has created more than just another jazz album; she has crafted a musical sanctuary that honors both the traditions of jazz piano and the healing power of music. In an era of increasing digital isolation and environmental disconnection, this album serves as a gentle reminder of what we stand to lose—and what music can help us preserve. The Ellen Rowe Quartet doesn’t merely perform these compositions; they inhabit them, creating intimate musical conversations that invite listeners into their circle of trust and creativity.
Vinton’s Cove releases November 21, 2025 via Smokin’ Sleddog Records.
Personnel:
Ellen Rowe – Piano
Mike Sakash – Saxophones
Dennis Carroll – Bass
Pete Siers – Drums
Featured Guest:
Sunny Wilkinson – Vocals