With Picc Pocket, Erica von Kleist puts it right out front—leading a straight-ahead small group through a set of original, high-energy jazz compositions. Jazz history offers very few examples of the piccolo flute in a leading role. One of the closest precedents appears in Buddy Collette’s late-1950s “Swinging Shepherds” projects—flute-frontline concept albums where piccolo was explicitly credited as part of the lead sound. Building on that small lineage, Picc Pocket stands apart as a modern, straight-ahead small-group statement written entirely to feature the piccolo flute as the primary voice, not as a doubling color or novelty effect.

Featuring a stellar band—Yago Vazquez (piano), Noriko Ueda (bass), and Anton Kot (drums)—with guest appearances by tenor saxophonist John Ellis and trombonist Jennifer Krupa, Picc Pocket is a straight-ahead, take-no-prisoners, high-pitched party of original compositions by Erica von Kleist, written specifically for this project. Highlights include “We Know How to Picc ’Em,” an Eddie Harris-esque throwback featuring a booming solo by Noriko Ueda, and “Picc & Choose,” a delicate waltz that serves as the chill moment in a set of funky, energetic tracks. The album closes with “Picc a Peck,” a slow blues that echoes the abstract unpredictability of Eric Dolphy—several octaves higher.

Release date: April 23rd