Vocalist Tyreek McDole presents CHROMA, a reflective commentary on home and an homage to songbooks past, contemporary, and future – out November 6th via Artwork Records
Building off the momentum of his debut Open Up Your Senses (Artwork Records, 2025), critically acclaimed vocalist and arranger Tyreek McDole has become a mainstay on the jazz scene, contributing at venues, festivals, and notably, with Kenny Barron‘s Songbook (Artwork Records, 2025). Now, in close collaboration with producer, trumpeter, and composer Theo Croker, McDole presents his sophomore album CHROMA, a venture that is omnidirectional, collecting works of McDole’s muses from the past and present, while looking forward to what he quotes drummer Terri Lynn Carrington as describing as “future favorites.” Releasing on November 6th via Artwork and featuring original compositions paired with arrangements of the likes of Nina Simone, Kendrick Lamar, and Andre 3000 (amongst others), CHROMA is McDole’s assemblage of voices that have inspired him, conceived in a manner as to inspire the future.
CHROMA was not created in a vacuum, but was rather a natural outpouring of the experiences preceding it. Following McDole’s experience with the great Kenny Barron, he found himself deeply enraptured with how apt the NEA Jazz Master is at “finding moments of homecoming” and comfort in his identity as a musician within each note he plays. Roused by witnessing such brilliance, McDole was led to a place of earnest reflection as he sought out the nature of his own “homecoming.” What he found was that much of his musical identity is located in the meeting of inner solace with the force of history, politics, and culture in the music of the present. It was at this intersection that CHROMA was born. McDole states that this album glances back to the traditions that shaped him, engages with his favorite contemporary artists, and points to the “future favorites” of the tradition that he is helping to form.
Musically, McDole’s album is shaped in equal parts by its song curation, collaborative arrangements, personnel, and intentional use of timbres in the studio. McDole and Croker’s commitment to sonic texturing is evident throughout the album, seen by specific and unique combinations of instruments, sampling, and lineups that differ from track to track. This is exemplified by the album’s personnel themselves. McDole’s role as bandleader and vocalist is complemented by his contributions of various percussion elements, while pianist Micheal King alternates between traditional piano, Fender Rhodes, and Prophet keyboard sounds as suits the needs of the track. Amidst the sampling and studio elements provided by Croker, one hears the ferocious yet steadfast sounds of Brandon Rose on upright bass, Akili Bradley on trumpet, and Joe Dyson on drum set and percussion. Present in and out of this is Emmanuel Michael’s guitar, weaving the various threads together.
The album’s opening track is a McDole original and the title track, “CHROMA.” This piece sets the stage thematically, as its lyrics, structured theatrically, call listeners to cut through the frantic bustle of daily life and make space for contemplation. Acting as a large-scale prelude for the rest of the album, “CHROMA” introduces various timbres, sonorities, and vocal elements which characterize McDole’s performance on the subsequent tracks. This opening is followed by an immediate step towards tradition with McDole’s rendition of the Nina Simone classic, “WILD IS THE WIND.” Through sparse orchestration and careful attention to detail in piano parts, this track is a meditated ode to Simone’s work while setting it afresh and placing it in a contemporary setting.
“CONFESSION” is a McDole original that combines the propulsion of dance elements – drawing on masters such as Michael Jackson, Prince, George Benson, and Bobby McFerrin – with robust jazz vocal scatting. As the piece flirts with various grooves, Croker’s arrangements set the rhythm section front and center, providing a solid, bluesy basis over which McDole presents his improvised vocal solos.
“BLUE IN GREEN” is McDole’s presentation of the Miles Davis/Bill Evans masterpiece in a way that renders the work anthemic. Using dense, opaque vocal hues in the manner referred to by African American poet Nathaniel Mackey refers to as “duende,” McDole enhances the emotional spirit of the composition without “unnecessary clutter.” Highlighting McDole’s commitment to the present and future is Croker’s arrangement of rapper and poet Kendrick Lamar’s “UNTITLED 05” A rhythm section showcase, this track shows McDole and his band swinging hard and driving fast as they tackle this piece from the oeuvre of the artist whom McDole describes as “the Coltrane of rappers.”
The album concludes meaningfully after its titanic tour de force roundup of jazz, Black American and Black Diasporic Music with a summative work aptly entitled, “GO HOME.” Composed by McDole, this piece is a callback to the title track and to the album’s philosophical theme as it harkens listeners to slow down, reflect, and contemplate the riches in even the simplest parts of life. Musically, “GO HOME” echoes the central recurring motif from the title track “CHROMA” as it encourages its audience to find home within oneself. For, when all is said and all is done, as CHROMA concludes, McDole desires simply that the listener make some “living room” for oneself and for one another.
CHROMA releases November 6th, 2026 via Artwork Records.
Tracklisting:
- CHROMA
- WILD IS THE WIND
- she’s alive
- CONFESSION
- BLUE IN GREEN
- WONDERCHILD
- UNTITLED 05
- SUNDAY
- THINK OF YOU
- GO HOME
2026 Tour Dates:
September 6, 2026: Dakota, Minneapolis, MN
September 8, 2026: Jazz Coterie at Great Northern Distilling, Stevens Point, WI
September 9, 2026: Jazz Coterie at North Shore Golf Club, Menasha, WI
September 11, 2026: Blue LLama Jazz Club, Ann Arbor, MI
September 12, 2026: Caffè Vivace, Cincinnati, OH
September 14–15, 2026: Lied Center of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
October 3, 2026: ANGRAJAZZ – Festival Internacional de Jazz de Angra do Heroísmo, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
October 17, 2026: BRIC House, Brooklyn, NY
October 23, 2026: Camp Concert Hall at the Modlin Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
October 24, 2026: Chris’ Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
November 3, 2026: Théâtre des Sablons, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
November 5, 2026: New Morning, Paris, France
November 6, 2026: Théâtre de Caen, Caen, France
November 7, 2026: Théâtre de Poissy, Poissy, France
November 10, 2026: La Coopérative de Mai, Clermont-Ferrand, France
November 12, 2026: Espace Culturel Alain-Poher, Ablon-sur-Seine, France
November 13, 2026: La Coursive, La Rochelle, France
November 14, 2026: Auditorium de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
November 16, 2026: The Lower Third, London, England
November 17, 2026: Centre d’Art et de Culture, Meudon, France
November 19, 2026: Le Scarron, Le Mans, France
November 21, 2026: Éclats d’Email Jazz Festival, Limoges, France
November 25, 2026: Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival, Monte Carlo, Monaco
November 26, 2026: L’Archipel, Fouesnant, France
November 28, 2026: Municipal Theater of Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau, France