TRAILBLAZING IMPROVISING BASSOONIST PAUL HANSON TO UNLEASH THE OUTER BANKS ON SEPTEMBER 18

Captivating new album from double-reed virtuoso features contributions from Charlie Hunter, Jeff Sipe, Issac Lee Hadden and other special guests

For the past two decades, Paul Hanson has dedicated himself to wresting the bassoon from its staid, classical reputation and reinventing it as a compelling, dynamic improvising instrument – discovering a riveting array of previously unheard timbres and textures in the process. Combining formidable technical prowess, a tireless experimental zeal (encompassing extended playing techniques and electronic processing), and unerring improvisational alacrity, Hanson makes the instrument breathe, sounding as natural and authoritative in front of a band as a tenor saxophone (which he has also mastered).

The Outer Banks, to be released by Abstract Logix on September 18, 2026, finds Hanson surrounded by similarly committed improvisers, including maverick guitarist Charlie Hunter (on his hybrid guitar/bass instrument), drummer Jeff Sipe, keyboardist Bill Stevens, guitarist Issac Lee Hadden, bassist John Daniel Ray, and drummer Calvin Napper. Recorded live at Ovation Sound in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with very minimal overdubs, The Outer Banks is both polished and crackling, pulling a wide range of influences (including jazz, funk, classical, and ambient) into a coherent, frequently surprising tapestry held together by both musicianship and camaraderie.

“This felt like the perfect thing to do to follow up my previous album,” says Hanson, referring to 2024’s Calliope. “That was more of a pandemic-style recording where no one ever played live with each other. We all did our parts in our own studios. As fantastic as the album came out, I really missed the opportunity to play together in the studio with musicians who were ready to take it anywhere we collectively wanted to go. We really had a great time making this album – nothing was stressful, it just flowed.”

The ease and exhilaration Hanson describes transfers palpably to the recording, from the backbeat swagger of opener “Grabass” to the skittering, near-techno sixteenth notes underpinning the urgent “Urghught (The Night).” While under five minutes, the intricate “Hobo Jobo” modulates seamlessly from a bassoon choir (courtesy of the UNCSA Bassoon Studio) into knotty funk, nimbly swinging jazz passages, and interludes of surging rock guitar (Hadden) – deftly navigated by longtime Hanson collaborator Sipe’s remarkably empathetic, musical drumming. “Jeff is very grounded in the earth, blues, and groove,” reflects Hanson, “yet cosmic and eclectic without being pretentious.”

At the center of The Outer Banks is Hanson – endlessly resourceful, employing the full range of his instrument in startling, refreshing ways. With a CV that includes performances alongside Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Wayne Shorter, Jon Batiste, Billy Cobham, Ray Charles, Medeski Martin & Wood, and dozens of others, Hanson has a knack for both the exploratory and the accessible, and balances them shrewdly throughout. His tonal range on the bassoon is staggering, reaching guttural exhalations not unlike a tenor sax, shimmering soprano sax-like highs, and taut, rhythmic attacks almost akin to a guitar or clavinet. Masterfully subtle electronic enhancements are another tool in Hanson’s kit, along with expressive multiphonics, immaculately precise articulation, and bends between pitches that are extremely difficult on bassoon, yet sound entirely organic when executed by Hanson.

For the impressive technical achievements on display, what cements The Outer Banks as a gem is less quantifiable. The joy, friendship, and wonder that was present from the very first fake continues throughout the session, giving The Outer Banks a fluid, mysterious sense of wonder even at its most gutbucket and direct. “I can’t quite put my finger on it,” Hanson concludes, “but I’ve always seemed to have a really wonderful musical time in North Carolina.”