Bill Laurance And Michael League: Close To Home

Since 2023, the partnership between Act Music and the Château Palmer vineyard has released an annual album featuring a different artist. Their collaboration celebrates the shared values of fine winemaking and jazz. Albums are recorded on-site at the renowned Bordeaux wine estate in Margaux, France, capturing intimate performances in a wood-paneled salon with windows overlooking the vineyards.

Close To Home is the third release from pianist Bill Laurance and oud/bassist Michael League, both Grammy winners and co-founders of jazz fusion collective Snarky Puppy. The album draws on over two decades of collaboration, refining a musical landscape shaped by jazz, folk and blues, often with Eastern and Mediterranean touches.

The tranquility of the setting and the acoustics of the château location play a major part. The intimate atmosphere is revealed in the sounds of breathing, birdsong from the garden and fingers moving on strings. All appear on the opening track "Luray," led by League's gently swaying oud. As League explains: "We're inviting the listener to be in this house along with us, rather than trying to put on a show for them."

The location also exposes the duo, stripping away the studio gloss, headphones and booths; this, coupled with the excellent sound quality, reveals the way the duo collaborates and responds. "Wisdom" sees the duo build a gentle rhythm with the bass weaving and reacting to Laurance's piano. League switches to oud, playing rhythmically on "Tiny Little Flames," shifting to a folky groove on "Kings And Queens" and building the atmosphere and blending delightfully on the atmospheric "Tenant."

Other highlights include "Sol Do Sul," with its tumbling and cascading piano, bass solo and exceptional interplay; the uplifting summer groove of "Never Miss A Thing;" and, among the up-tempo tracks, the pulsing "Trust In You," with its sparkling piano solo and inventive basslines.

Close To Home is certainly the pick of the duo's three albums to date, with every track building its own mood. This time around, their playing seems sharper, their understanding greater, their melodies stronger and their sense of direction more certain. The whole release feels natural and captures the essence of their collaboration. This 2026 vintage is particularly good.