Today, Tomin — the NYC-raised brass- and reed-centered multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and bioinformatician — releases Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina, his debut album for International Anthem, on LP, Cassette, and Digital Download with focus track “Life Revisited” available on all streaming platforms. Stream “Life Revisited” here and purchase Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina here.

An evocative collection of jazz haikus, this album hears Tomin employ a range of clarinets, trumpets and sine waves to pay homage to his late grandmother, his older sister, and the jazz elders who have inspired him. Weaving together diminutive interpretations of jazz greats, alongside his original compositions, the low-lit moods and modal sketches of Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina conjure a timelessness that quietly invites the listener into Tomin’s sonic world.

These 24 tender miniatures — many not more than two minutes long — were recorded between 2020 and 2021, and tell the story of a transformative period in Tomin’s life. Reflecting on love, change, and the passage of time, Tomin’s astute playing and expert arrangements bind the album together in an appreciation of the beauty of small acts.

The last song on the album, and available on all streaming services, is today’s focus track: “Life Revisited.” This contemplative and slightly somber piece beautifully encapsulates the reflective nature of the entire album.

Describing the process of creating “Life Revisited,” Tomin says: “I came up with the chords for ‘Life Revisited’ by popping out the tape that I recorded ‘Life’ on, flipping it, putting it back into my 4-track, and playing it backwards. I was immediately struck by how reversing what was a joyous chord progression resulted in a melancholy progression instead. I consequently decided to name the song I made out of the reversed progression ‘Life Revisited’ for two reasons. First, it is literally revisiting — by way of reversing — the original progression. Second, it also revisits and inverts the theme of ‘Life’ by changing the spirit of the composition into a retrospective and nostalgic one. In place of joy and wonder, there’s longing and remembering.”

Of Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina, New Commute says Tomin’s “debut solo effort is a double-sided revelation with one part offering masterful interpretations of Mingus, Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Albert Ayler while the other immerses listeners in his original creations of futuristic electric keyboards and synths that push the boundaries of sound and imagination.”

The album’s announcement was accompanied by the release of the lead single “Angela’s Angel,” a horn-led fanfare of gentle majesty, barely a minute long, but no less powerful as a result. Interpreting avant-garde master Granchan Moncur III’s tune of the same name, Tomin describes “Angela’s Angel” as a “festive and dancing groove,” in tribute to his favorite trombonist and to the political philosopher and activist Angela Yvonne Davis, to whom the original was dedicated. Listen to “Angela’s Angel” here.

Read the album write up by Piotr Orlov here.
Read the liner notes by Tomin here.