“Departures” - About the New Album

In advance of the release of my new album, Departures (out October 16, 2026), I thought I’d tell you about the songs and what inspired them.

With Mom at the CN Tower Edgewalk, 2013.

Departures is a title with many meanings. The compositions on this album have been influenced by major recent life events, including the death of my mother, a new job, and numerous family trips around the world.

For this album (my fourth as leader), it was time for an experiment: recording my music with a new group, assembled for the session, with no prior experience performing my music, and minimal rehearsal. What you’ll hear on this recording is exactly that: a live-off-the-floor album with minimal editing, recorded in a day. This process forced me to feel the sense of urgency that I always enjoy in a live setting, and I really enjoyed the challenge. I hope that you will hear that urgency in the music.

Pictured left to right: Andrew Mullin (engineer), Shirantha, Jim Doxas (drums), Florian Hoefner (piano), Jodi Proznick (bass), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet). Photo: Dinitha Vithanage.

Musaladi Vannama and Ukusa Vannama are songs from a collection of 18 vannamas that were composed as courtly music for the Kandayan kings in Sri Lanka, centuries ago. I was introduced to Ukusa Vannama during my 2022 residency at University of Peradeniya, and I was immediately taken by this haunting and plaintive melody. I was also able to connect with my great-great-uncle Rohana Baddage on this trip: he is known to Sri Lankans of all ages as a singer, actor, and teacher of traditional music.

Shirantha with faculty and students at Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, October 2022.

With Rohana Baddage, 2022.

A recent family trip to Ireland inspired Hey, Jimmy!, where a drunken folk festival patron chose to draw attention to my skin colour. Thankfully I was able to channel my frustration into music! Incidentally, this song reminds me of the musical style of Jimmy Giuffre. A happy coincidence, I suppose?

Circling is an attempt to celebrate the legacy of Kenny Wheeler, a musician and composer who has influenced generations of jazz in Canada and beyond. This song is yet another departure for me, as it began life as a big band composition. It was composed for a 2025 symposium on the music of Kenny Wheeler in Saskatoon, and premiered by Ingrid Jensen. This arrangement was written to feature pianist Florian Hoefner in an unaccompanied interlude.

Departures was inspired by a chaotic trip through the Singapore airport involving my wife, my Dad, FaceTiming my niece Orla re: Miffy dolls, and more. (Ask me about it!) This song attempts to capture the essence of an air traveller’s nightmare: running full-tilt towards the gate for a final boarding call, bags in hand, with time in short supply.

A large proportion of my compositions have something to do with food. (For a person whose default mode is “hungry”, I suppose that’s on brand.) A 2022 composer residency in Visby, Sweden inspired The Pickled Herring Blues, which is not really a blues in the traditional sense. This song features a delightfully funky solo by my pal Jodi Proznick.

My glorious pickled herring meal at Backfikan Restaurant, Visby, Dec 2022.

Ever since moving to New Jersey in 2002 (where I spent the next two years), I have had mixed emotions about New York, or as locals call it, “the city”. The endless musical inspirations, the frenetic energy of Times Square, the “canyons of steel”: it’s a truly awe-inspiring and overwhelming place. Vernon Duke’s Autumn in New York captures those emotions so beautifully in a timeless way. I’ll leave you here, amidst the shimmering clouds.

Walking in New York, 2013.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Hope you enjoy!