Phil Haynes: Terra

Corner Store Jazz 0153 (RELEASED MAY 1, 2026)

With titles such as “Moonrise” and “Borealis,” Terra is the perfect soundtrack for the recent Artemis mission to the moon. The four freely improvised pieces give you the feeling of hurling and floating through the terrestrial scenery of deep space. Expanding the traditional sound of their instruments, drummer Phil Haynes, guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Peyton Pleninger create a suite that is otherworldly, atmospheric and ethereal. Terra begins calmly with Haynes’ hypnotic bells and shakers but get ready to blast off as the mood intensifies with Monder’s dense and swirling textures and Pleninger’s forceful style and haunting vocalizations. The first piece, “Moonrise/
Aurora/Starlit/Meteor” thrusts you into another world while you dreamily go with the flow on the second piece, “Vision/Quest/Three Visitors.” Pleninger ruminates over the spatial comping of Monder and the ever-shifting rhythmic colors created by Haynes. It seems appropriate that the trio chose to visit Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark” on their journey. Pleninger maintains the essence of the tune as he explores its melodic charm while Monder hints at the harmony and Haynes creates other world sounds on his cymbals. The final piece, “Borealis/Showers/Dreams/Dawn” captures the bands reentry into calmer ground but not without the tumult, heat and force of speeding back to earth. They land safely as they float to a soothing end to their cosmic journey in the free-floating world of free improvisation. Like going into space on Artemis, the music of Terra is not for the faint of heart, but it is an interesting journey into new territories that needs to be explored by sonic adventurers like Haynes, Monder and Pleninger.

BOTTOM LINE: Recorded live at Bucknell University, Terra was the first ever meeting of drummer Phil Haynes, guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Peyton Pleninger as an ensemble. Haynes describes the music on as “feeling like laying down stargazing.” The trio present four totally improvised pieces, including an ethereal take on Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark” that although dizzying at times are mesmerizing, ever-changing, and awe-inspiring.