In April 2022, Brooklyn based baritone saxophonist, Jonah Parzen-Johnson, found himself on a flight from New York to Istanbul to play a one-off duo concert with a veteran drummer & sound designer at the center of Istanbul’s vibrant music scene, Berke Can Özcan. They met for the first time 30 minutes before soundcheck. The concert that followed could have been the culmination of years of collaboration. Both urgent and timeless, their musical partnership is instantly solid, innocent and joyful.

Recorded across continents, time zones, and cultures, It Was Always Time meticulously builds on itself, weaving layers of found-sound samples over acoustic percussion to frame poignant saxophone melodies that melt into rich synth interludes. Although the album is almost completely improvised, the depth of texture and devotion to melody make it feel through-composed. From track to track, each musician places their trust in the other, and as ambition evolves into empathy, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. This is not a protest album, or music that sets out to directly change the world. Rather, in the subtle way that only art is capable of, the music made by this international duo of strangers turned friends is a reminder: Be curious, find joy, build something better together. It’s time. It was always time.

Since their first meeting, this duo has been featured across Europe and in the United States. Following an EP raising money for earthquake relief in 2023, the two are proud to release their debut LP on We Jazz Records in November 2024. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.