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Gateway by Michael Pallas

From the album

Album Title: Gateway
Label: Truth Revolution Records
Released: 2024

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About the Album

With the release of his debut album, Gateway, the Phoenix-raised, New York City-based trombonist, composer, and educator Michael Pallas looks to make his mark as a leader to be reckoned with. A trombonist inspired by J.J. Johnson. Curtis Fuller, Steve Turre and Papo Vasquez, Pallas is a proud alumnus of the Jackie McLean Institute, founded by legendary alto saxophonist and educator Jackie McLean in Hartford, Connecticut.

While Pallas has been performing professionally for over 15 years, including stints with legendary jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, mambo big band leader Steve Oquendo, Afrobeat band Antibalas, hip-hop group Soul Science Lab and others, the trombonist was inspired to become a solo artist during the pandemic. “I really had a lot of time just to reflect on where my career was at that point,” Pallas says, “and I felt like it was necessary for me to start moving in this direction of really seriously writing my own music, and eventually releasing my own record. So I began to compose tunes that dealt with themes and emotions that I and many artists were facing during the first two years of the decade.”

Backed by saxophonist Lomar Brown, pianist Yeissonn Villamar, bassist John Benítez, drummer Jonathan Barber, and percussionist Nelson Mathew Gonzalez - with co-producer Alex Meltzer - the 13 Pallas-penned selections on Gateway reflect the myriad inventions and dimensions of 21st century jazz.

Pallas was very specific about how the recording was sequenced. “I was able to tell the story through the songs, and they're all placed in a chronological order,” Pallas remarks. “I thought long and hard about how the tracks should be placed.”

Gateway is a testament to how versatile a trombonist and composer Pallas is while also showing that he’s fluent in many different genres. “I’m excited to share all these ways of playing and approaching new styles of music on the trombone,” Pallas says.

Tracks

1. "Life on Mars" 2. "One for the City" 3. "Steaming Hope" 4. "Patent(s)" 5. "Disu's Dream" 6. "Counterfeit Blues" 7. "The Verdict" 8. "Today and Forever" 9. "Next Exit" 10. "Gateway" 11. "Beyond (The Gateway)" 12. "El Boli" 13. "Variant"

Personnel

Date featured

July 9, 2026

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company. It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.