blue earth sound: cicero nights
Francisco Espregueira
Next friday, Deep Matter and Root Records are set to release the debut album from Blue Earth Sound, the new project from Chicago-based James Weir. Set for release on September 19, Cicero Nights marks Weir's first foray as a bandleader and composer, offering a lush, instrumental jazz sound that feels both deeply intimate and endlessly cinematic. The album, which blends soulful grooves, cinematic textures, and intuitive musicianship, was inspired by everything from 70s Chicago jazz and soul to Japanese fusion and vintage film scores. Weir, who started the project in his basement in Humboldt Park by exploring the piano, brought the early material to Dave Vettraino of International Anthem to help shape the sonic vision, enlisting an incredible cast of Chicago players like Will Miller and Eamonn Prizy, along with friends and collaborators from across the city's music world.
Across its eight immersive tracks, Cicero Nights is a record built for "golden hour hangs" and slow walks, filled with moments that drift, swell, and settle into their own rhythm. The lead single, "Mariposa," beautifully captures the album's spirit with its bright piano melodies and breezy, pastoral energy. Elsewhere, tracks like "Lover's Rock" and "Half & Half" weave in elements of psychedelic soul and percussion-driven grooves, always grounded by a sense of community. The name Blue Earth Sound may come from Weir's Minnesota hometown, but the album is unmistakably a Chicago jazz record, rooted in soulful experimentation and thoughtful collaboration. As Weir says, "I just wanted to make tunes that a DJ could play at a Chicago bar like Danny’s at 8:30 pm that would set a good vibe." Cicero Nights is the kind of album that sets a vibe early in the evening and carries you through with style, subtlety, and heart. Available on vinyl