Playscape Recordings is proud to release Ancestral Numbers I, saxophonist, flutist, and composer Jason Robinson's second release on the Playscape Recordings label.

On Ancestral Numbers Ⅰ, Jason Robinson translates his own family history into evocative musical form. The first of two albums reflecting on his ancestry, (and Ancestral Numbers II following on October 8, 2024) features a superb quintet distilled from Robinson's larger Janus Ensemble, with trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Ches Smith. The inspiration for Ancestral Numbers was the final gift bestowed on Robinson by his maternal grandmother, Ruby Annette Kilbury, who passed away in 2022. Looking back through his lineage, Robinson discovered that he was the latest (and last) in a line of eldest children born when their mothers were just 17 years old. While hardships undoubtedly ensued from such young parenthood, he also realized that it offered the rare benefit of having known first hand several generations of his forebears.