Chris Cheek - Keepers of the Eastern Door - 180g Vinyl LP

AAA 180g Vinyl, cut by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Gotta Groove. 

1. Kino’s Canoe (Chris Cheek) 3:34
2. Smoke Rings (Ned Washington & H. Eugene Gifford) 4:30
3. O Sacrum Convivium! (Olivier Messiaen) 6:49
4. On A Clear Day (Burton Lane & Alan Jay Lerner) 4:14
5. Lost Is My Quiet (Henry Purcell) 7:21
6. From Me To You (John Lennon & Paul McCartney) 5:05
7. Keepers Of The Eastern Door (Chris Cheek) 4:45
8. Go On, Dear (Chris Cheek) 5:18

Total Time: 41:37

Acclaimed Saxophonist/Composer Chris Cheek finds harmony with nature on Keepers of the Eastern Door. Featuring an All-Star quartet with Bill Frisell, Tony Scherr and Rudy Royston, the album was recorded by James Farber at Power Station, direct to analog tape and mastered by Bernie Grundman.

As European settlers moved westward from the Atlantic coast of North America, the Mohawk people – the easternmost tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy – became known as “Keepers of the Eastern Door” for their role as guardians against invasion from the encroaching colonizers.

The outcome of that battle may seem inevitable from the historical perspective, but the tension at its heart, between those who respect and live in harmony with the land and those who view the Earth from a more rapacious perspective, persists. In “The Kutenai Duck Hunter,” the image by photographer and ethnologist Edward Curtis that graces the cover of his breathtaking new album, Keepers of the Eastern Door, acclaimed saxophonist and composer Chris Cheek sees those two parallel mindsets represented in the reflection of a canoe in the river as its occupant looks to the horizon – and an uncertain future.

These ideas lend richness and depth to Cheek’s stunning music throughout Keepers of the Eastern Door, released May 23, 2025 via Analog Tone Factory. The album features a remarkable all-star quartet, with Cheek joined by revered guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Rudy Royston for a wide-ranging but harmonious repertoire including captivating originals and covers by everyone from The Beatles to Henry Purcell, Olivier Messiaen to Henry Mancini.