Biography
Justin Walter, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, produces atmospheric and evocative pieces for trumpet, electronics, and the EVI, a rare wind-controlled analog synthesizer tied to fusion and new age styles that remains notoriously demanding to play. His music occupies the overlapping zones of jazz, ambient, and contemporary composition, moving fluidly through shifting tonal palettes and emotional registers. Though typically marked by warmth, softness, and a luminous quality, the work sometimes turns toward bleaker psychological states. Traces of Jon Hassell’s Fourth World approach and other ECM-linked figures can be detected, yet the overall voice remains singular and its freshness stands out.
After a series of limited solo releases, Kranky issued the expansive, pulse-driven Lullabies & Nightmares in 2013. The leaner Unseen Forces arrived in 2017, followed by the diffuse Destroyer in 2023.
Walter first drew attention playing trumpet with the Ann Arbor Afrobeat fusion ensemble NOMO in the mid-2000s. He also built a substantial session résumé, appearing on recordings by Michigan groups such as Saturday Looks Good to Me and His Name Is Alive, as well as with Iron & Wine and Sinkane. In 2009 he began releasing solo material with the EP Music for Science Filmstrips, which contained his initial EVI compositions. This was followed by A Call to Arms, a jazz session featuring pianist Rick Roe, bassist Kurt Krahnke, and drummer Pete Siers. Late 2011 brought the EVI-focused EP When We Were Young. Early the next year he released Stars, an octet jazz album that included trombonist Vincent Chandler and several NOMO colleagues. Far more experimental than A Call to Arms, the set took three years to develop and was recorded by Warren Defever at Detroit’s UFO Factory.
Also in 2012, Life Like, the label run by Fred Thomas, released a double-cassette of Walter’s EVI compositions and improvisations titled simply Walter. Shortly afterward the label issued the single-sided LP Dark Matter, drawing several tracks from the cassette plus additional material. That release immediately preceded Lullabies & Nightmares, Walter’s first Kranky album, recorded with drummer Quin Kirchner. He subsequently formed Bambi Kino Duo with Brian Case of 90 Day Men and Disappears; International Anthem released the duo’s See Heat on cassette in 2015. Walter supplied EVI and keyboards to Colin Stetson’s Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, issued in 2016. The following year Kranky put out Unseen Forces, a solo collection of EVI and trumpet explorations. After a lengthy interval he returned with his third Kranky album, Destroyer, in 2023, incorporating the sound of a restored pump organ.
After a series of limited solo releases, Kranky issued the expansive, pulse-driven Lullabies & Nightmares in 2013. The leaner Unseen Forces arrived in 2017, followed by the diffuse Destroyer in 2023.
Walter first drew attention playing trumpet with the Ann Arbor Afrobeat fusion ensemble NOMO in the mid-2000s. He also built a substantial session résumé, appearing on recordings by Michigan groups such as Saturday Looks Good to Me and His Name Is Alive, as well as with Iron & Wine and Sinkane. In 2009 he began releasing solo material with the EP Music for Science Filmstrips, which contained his initial EVI compositions. This was followed by A Call to Arms, a jazz session featuring pianist Rick Roe, bassist Kurt Krahnke, and drummer Pete Siers. Late 2011 brought the EVI-focused EP When We Were Young. Early the next year he released Stars, an octet jazz album that included trombonist Vincent Chandler and several NOMO colleagues. Far more experimental than A Call to Arms, the set took three years to develop and was recorded by Warren Defever at Detroit’s UFO Factory.
Also in 2012, Life Like, the label run by Fred Thomas, released a double-cassette of Walter’s EVI compositions and improvisations titled simply Walter. Shortly afterward the label issued the single-sided LP Dark Matter, drawing several tracks from the cassette plus additional material. That release immediately preceded Lullabies & Nightmares, Walter’s first Kranky album, recorded with drummer Quin Kirchner. He subsequently formed Bambi Kino Duo with Brian Case of 90 Day Men and Disappears; International Anthem released the duo’s See Heat on cassette in 2015. Walter supplied EVI and keyboards to Colin Stetson’s Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, issued in 2016. The following year Kranky put out Unseen Forces, a solo collection of EVI and trumpet explorations. After a lengthy interval he returned with his third Kranky album, Destroyer, in 2023, incorporating the sound of a restored pump organ.
Albums
Destroyer
2023
Unseen Forces
2017
Lullabies and Nightmares
2013
Stars
2012
A Call to Arms - Featuring Rick Roe, Kurt Krahnke, and Pete Siers
2009
Singles
