The New York Second | Room For Other People | February 1, 2025

Dutch pianist/composer Harald Walkate proudly presents the fifth album from his critically acclaimed ensemble The New York Second. Atmospheric, poetic, and cinematic, the record is a series of musical responses to ten photographs by Vivian Maier, aka The Nanny Photographer.

Room For Other People is set to release on February 1st.

Maier spent her life making photographs alongside her work as a nanny, particularly on the streets of Chicago and New York, producing hundreds of thousands of stunning photos that she … stored in boxes. And that brought her worldwide fame only posthumously, after they were discovered at auction.

Discovering a shared passion for Maier’s work, Harald Walkate and photographer/saxophonist Tom Beek agreed that what appealed to them, apart from the evocative aesthetics of the (predominantly) black-and-white images, was the fact that Maier seemed to photograph mainly for herself. They draw parallels between Maier’s creative practice and their own: using music as a means of making sense of the world, and hopefully making it a little more beautiful.

Intricately arranged for octet, the record’s sound is compositionally and texturally complex. Lush arrangements for the four part woodwind/brass section and the interplay of piano and vibraphone provide a dense and colorful yet subtle harmonic palette over which Walkate’s thoughtfully written melodies and expressive improvisations unfold.

Like Maier, the musicians – following the composer’s lead – put themselves in a position to ‘capture’ reality. Not passively, but with imagination; from the desire to participate in it themselves, to be of significance too. Not just to see it as it is but also to see it better than it is. Perhaps this is the ideal that makes an artist: the expectation that reality can be made (more) beautiful, by rearranging and reshaping it yourself.

Line up

Track Listing

983 Third Avenue
Florida, 1957
The Collectors Corner
The Class Photograph
Room for Other People
Safety Service Comfort
The White Dress
Location & Date Unknown
View of Île Saint-Louis
Downstairs for Incoming Trains
Room for Other People (Reprise)

PR Quotes

Jazz Journal (UK)
“At times it feels as if you are exploring the streets of a big city“

Paris-move (FR)
“a work that will undoubtedly appeal to jazz enthusiasts and classical music lovers alike”

Blogcritics (US)
“atmospheric, richly textured music”

Harmonious World (UK)
“a sublime sense of New York”

Esensja (PL)
“Each is a masterpiece. But as a whole – willingly or unwillingly – they overwhelm.”

Jazz ese ruido (ES)
“The album closes with a very brief reprise of “Room for Other People” that brilliantly completes this complex puzzle, with colorful harmonies, for these black and white photographs that still seem alive with the jazz of The New York Second. ”

Action Jazz (FR)
“a marvel of balance and harmony“

Jazzism (NL)
“The music has an unmistakably melancholic mood and thus connects sympathetically with Maier’s images”

The Arts Desk (UK)
“A lovely disc, and one of my favourite releases so far this year. Can we have a gatefold vinyl reissue please?”

Era Jazzu (PL)
“atmospheric, poetic and cinematic album”

Flophouse Magazine (UK)
“a thoroughly enjoyable story by the Amsterdam pianist, who specializes in culturally-motivated records of completely self-written repertory”

All About Jazz (US)
“a fitting homage to the enduring legacy of Vivian Maier”

Mainly Piano (UK)
“soulful and elegant”

Nettavisen (NO)
“beautiful and highly personal music”

Jazznytt (NO)
“brilliant ensemble jazz with enough resistance in its sweetness to feel perfect and effortless”

Textura (US)
“Walkate honours Maier’s work and memory magnificently with this project statement”