The third album from British saxophonist and composer Jasmine Myra is a milestone in many ways. “It’s the first time I’ve been so hands-on and led the production of a whole record, and it’s the first time I’ve written for strings,” she tells Apple Music. “It feels mature—a reflection of where I’m at now and the ways I can challenge myself. I’m so proud of it.” Coming to prominence with the release of her acclaimed 2022 debut album Horizons, Myra quickly established herself as an heir to the sweeping, mood-driven jazz music made by the likes of Canadian composer Kenny Wheeler and her frequent collaborator, trumpeter Matthew Halsall. Developing slowly-unfurling melodies bolstered by the soft breathiness of her saxophone tone, Myra finds her strength in composing for the ensemble as much as performing as a leader. On Where Light Settles, Myra marshals her largest ensemble to date, writing nine tracks for a 14-piece group that meander from the plaintive piano and harp melodies of “Reflections” to the folk-influenced feel of “Echo”, the swinging groove of “Fragments”, and the emotive string swells of the title track. “It’s an album about the bittersweetness of life and the inherent duality of our experiences,” she says. “The light in the title is a metaphor for hope and the record is ultimately the sound of a large ensemble in the room all playing together, uplifting each other.” Read on for Myra’s in-depth thoughts on the album, track by track. “Opening” “Originally ‘Opening’ and ‘Reflections’ were one long tune but it felt appropriate to split them into an intro and a full track when it came to sequencing the album. I wanted to start with this song because it encapsulates the sound of the album and establishes that this music is a bit folkier and more cinematic. I love the slowness of it, how it’s very calm and unfolds at its own pace, which is the headspace I want the listener to be in when they hear the album.” “Reflections” “I’m from Leeds originally, and growing up, I’d visit my grandparents in the Lake District, which started a very important connection with nature that I still have today. Since moving to London, I’ve felt more detached from that and found myself needing to visit natural places more often. I ended up booking a writing trip for this album to a shipping container in the South Downs, which was where I came up with ‘Reflections’. I was in the middle of nowhere, staring out of the window and looking at lovely green fields and birds. The sound of this track reminds me of the awe you’d feel looking at that view.” “Likeness and Shadow” “This was also written on the same trip to the South Downs. I was listening to a lot of music by the singer Arooj Aftab and became really inspired by her use of the harp. Thematically, the title references a Walt Whitman poem that I love, That Shadow, My Likeness, which is about the struggle between your inner self and public identity. It resonates with me as allowing your true self to be shown to others is something I’ve grappled with for years. It can feel like pushing against the wind, which is what the arrangement on this tune sounds like.” “Some Rain Must Fall” “I went through a period where I could only write tunes in 3/4 and this was one of them. It’s another pretentious poetic metaphor because it’s inspired by another poem I love, The Rainy Day by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In the poem, he uses the metaphor of bad weather as relating to hardships in life, since it’s inevitable for us to go through them. I find one line in particular really beautiful: ‘Behind the clouds is the sun still shining.’ Four minutes into this track it goes into this long outro that feels just like that clarity when the sun is shining again.” “Echo” “It feels like ‘Echo’ has a very different sound in terms of my usual writing. Usually, I write quite through-composed tunes but this is more verse-chorus, which was inspired by listening to a lot of Madison Cunningham and Flyte. I love that when you’re writing a tune, you never quite know where it’s going to go or what might influence it. It also features Arran Kent on clarinet, who brings a really nice energy to the track.” “Breath” “I’d written quite a few interludes before we went into the studio and they were mainly taken from ‘Reflections’ because I wanted to refer back to that throughout that album to set the tone. I really loved this one and wanted to call it ‘Breath’ because it feels like breathing. It’s the first track that plays when you flip the vinyl over and it feels like a nice pause. I love how lush the strings make it feel.” “Fragments” “Like ‘Echo,’ ‘Fragments’ equally feels different to my usual writing. It’s inspired by the film composer Dustin O’Halloran, it’s more cinematic than the other tracks, and I love the energy of it. It also reminds me of some of my older writing, when I used to make more hip-hop-inspired music, and it feels like a bit of a throwback to that with the groove. It also has a bass solo on it by Sam Quintana, which is the first time I’ve had one on a record!” “In an Instant” “I knew I wanted the saxophonist Matt Carmichael to feature because I’ve been a fan of his for a few years now and I thought he’d be a really good match for my soundworld. I wrote this track for him and it’s folky and expansive, tying into the nature theme of the record. Compositionally, I’m most proud of this track because it features the full 14-piece ensemble. When we were recording, it was quite emotional when the strings came in and it sounded so full and beautiful. The title is taken from a quote in one of my favorite plays, Waiting for Godot, which talks about how brief life can feel and how our existence is one blip. You can either think that’s bleak or that it’s beautiful and amazing to have this experience at all!” “Where Light Settles” “‘Where Light Settles’ is a slow-burner, it takes time to get into the layers of strings that are added but once you settle into its loose energy, it’s such a hopeful and uplifting note to end the record on. It’s the only track on the album where I take a solo and that’s a nice thing to add in. The album is really about my compositions and, as a performer, I feel like I don’t have to be the center of these tunes because it’s my music. It’s about the full ensemble. It’s nice to wrap it up with a glimpse of me as a saxophonist though, and I really fell in love with the song after we recorded it.”