The new year brings new music for Gretchen Parlato Quartet!
Album release will be on the 11th of September, 2026!

The new album marks a collaboration between Gretchen Parlato and long time bandmate, bassist, guitarist and songwriter Alan Hampton who forged a friendship twenty years ago when they both landed in New York City as alumni of the Thelonius Monk Institute (now the Herbie Hancock Institute). Together they have written and recorded several hit songs (“Still”, “It Will Be”) and have toured worldwide with Gretchen’s quartet. 
Over that time, Hampton has recorded and toured with Rufus Wainwright and Andrew Bird, and along with Bird, scored the award wining documentary Storm Lake directed by Chris Pine. Fast forward, and the two have reunited in a collaboration that celebrates and inspires connections and family. The first single will be a new version of “If It Was” honoring the survivors of the Altadena CA fires. 

Scheduled for release September 11, 2026, via Edition Records, The Wise Ones reunites Gretchen Parlato with a core circle of collaborators from her earliest recordings, alongside fellow travelers from across her remarkable artistic journey. Robert Glasper, Gerald Clayton, and Mark Guiliana—each now firmly established among the most influential artists of their generation—return to the table, meeting Parlato on a shared plane, shaped by time, trust, and shared history.

“I’m so grateful to have formed such profound bonds with the musicians on this album,” Parlato shares with a smile. “Beyond the artistry, we’re friends—humans on a deeply connected path. Creating this album felt almost effortless… almost. Of course, it required immense thought and care, fueled by love, admiration, and respect.”

Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Alan Hampton—who also co-produced the album with Parlato—adds, “These songs were written at very different moments in our lives: some brand new, others nearly twenty years old. Gretchen had a beautiful vision of weaving them into one cohesive work—exploring time, love, loss, and personal growth, while honoring the shared history that connects us all.”

That sense of family extends to a powerful group of special guests, including vocalists Becca Stevens and Moonchild’s Amber Navran, both of whom cite Parlato as a formative influence. “Gretchen has had a huge impact on my artistry and musicianship,” Navran says. “In a Dream and The Lost and Found came out while I was in college, and we would sit together and listen to those records front to back, fully taking in every detail.” Stevens echoes the sentiment: “If you encounter a contemporary, jazz-adjacent vocalist—myself included—they’re influenced by Gretchen Parlato, whether they realize it or not. She raised the bar into entirely new stratospheres, especially through her deeply authentic reimagining and a vocal sound that could only begin with her.”