Jeff Denson Live, his seventh recording as a leader and first live album, is slated for a May 17 digital-only release via Ridgeway Records. Live was recorded at the CJC with a superlative band, including saxophonist Lyle Link, pianist Dahveed Behroozi and drummer Dillon Vado; it continues his development toward giving his formidable vocal prowess (as documented on 2018’s Outside My Window) equal prominence with his remarkable bass playing.

“After Outside My Window came out, I took my quartet all over the country, and I was loving the pursuit of singing along with playing,” Denson says. “The chemistry in the band kept growing in a really great way, and that’s when I decided, ‘Okay, I want to do a live album.’ I love working in the studio, but live, we extend things and take a lot of risks—and I don’t worry about track lengths. We let it go wherever it’s gonna go.”

Live features five of Denson’s original compositions, along with scintillating covers of songs by Jeff Buckley, Abbey Lincoln, Peter Gabriel and the Beatles.