Julien Knowles - As Many, as One (2024) [Hi-Res]

The album title “As Many, as One” isn’t present as a track title, but reveals itself across the album under broader concepts. I think it’s important to shed light on a few of these themes as they become clear with each track:

“As many as one.” Meaning that something singular (in this case, myself as an artist) can embody something much larger than one, the smallest natural number. It’s the idea that “one” has the power to carry significant weight on its own.

“As Many, as One.” This is where the comma plays a significant role, separating the statement in half to pay homage to the many people it took to create this recording, and the unity with which everyone embodied musically. The phrase “it takes a village…” immediately comes to mind, and this album is just one instance of this concept in life.

“Not two, and not one. Two and one.” This is the overarching concept the album revolves around, introduced to me in Shunryū Suzuki’s book on Zen Buddhism called Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. An excerpt reads: “Our body and mind are not two and not one… Our body and mind are both two and one. We usually think that if something is not one, it is more than one; if it is not singular, it is plural. But in actual experience, our life is not only plural, but also singular. Each one of us is both dependent and independent.”

Julien Knowles, trumpet
Devin Daniels, alto saxophone (all but 1, 6, & 9)
Javier Santiago, piano (all but 1 & 6)
Dario Bizio, bass (all but 6)
Benjamin Ring, drums (all but 1 & 6)
Ela Kodžas, violin (1, 5, & 9)
Michelle Sheehy, violin (1, 5, & 9)
Damon Zavala, viola (1, 5, & 9)
Niall Ferguson, cello (1, 5, & 9)