“RMI Records is happy to announce the release of Raise Up, an all-instrumental yet remarkably diverse debut album from Trio 149. The group is comprised of Jen Allen on piano and electric piano, Noah Baerman on Hammond organ and synthesizer, and Johnathan Blake on drums. The unconventional instrumentation is just a means of expression, in this case an expression of the musicians’ aspirations for a better world.

Allen and Baerman first performed together in a two-keyboard group in 2014, inspired in part by piano/organ combinations ranging from classic soul and gospel to the comparatively small handful of modern jazz pairings. The genesis of the group dates back further, in a sense, in that as longtime friends and colleagues the intention to collaborate was present for years prior, with instrumentation as the only barrier against making it happen. For their maiden record date, they brought aboard Blake, one of the busiest and most respected drummers on the global jazz scene. According to Baerman, “Johnathan is a phenomenal musician and, equally important to this project, a parent with a broad sense of conscience and concern for the wellbeing of humanity. We needed a truly kind and soulful human being in the drum chair for this music.”