Alabaster DePlume shares new EP, announces poetry book & 2025 tour
English jazz musician and poet Alabaster DePlume has announced a new EP, Prologue To A Blade, which is out now via International Anthem. It includes two songs recorded in Palestine with local musicians, pianist Sami El Enany, and Qanoun player Laith AlBandak, and a third track “inspired by the experience of living in solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
“To set you up for what’s coming I’ve layered up these compositions in private, and with friends,” DePlume says. “It’s a prologue to what we’re bringing next. It ushers it in. I went towards things I feared, to be in the places where this music has come from. Places in the world and in myself, where dignity and sovereignty has its role in the work of healing.” You can listen to the EP below.
DePlume has also announced a new book of poetry as well as a US tour ahead of his appearance at Big Ears 2025. Dates include a Kingston, NY show at Tubby’s on March 15 and a NYC show at Le Poisson Rouge on March 16. Tickets for all 2025 US dates go on sale Friday, October 18 at 10 AM.
Before that, Alabaster DePlume will be in Brooklyn for an International Anthem-presented show at Public Records on December 4, which is with Anna Butterss and Jeremiah Chiu. All dates are listed below.
As for the poetry book, it’s a companion piece to the EP, titled Looking For My Value: Prologue To A Blade, which “offers readers a deeper exploration of the themes of dignity, sovereignty, and the work of healing that are present in his music.” It’s bound in a limited gatefold custom A6 pocket book featuring cover art by British illustrator Ian Wright and design by London-based Jamie Coull. It’s out November 27 and more info on that is here.
Alabaster DePlume – 2024 / 2025 Tour Dates
October 19, 2024 – Skopje, MK @ Youth Cultural Centre
October 26, 2024 – Milano, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31
November 2, 2024 – Vendôme, FR @ The Minotaur
November 6, 2024 – Brighton, GB @ Chalk
November 21, 2024 – Vienna, AT @ FLUC Wanne
December 4, 2024 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records
March 14, 2025 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
March 15, 2025 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
March 16, 2025 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
March 18, 2025 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
March 19, 2025 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
March 21, 2025 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
March 22, 2025 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
March 23, 2025 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
March 25, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
March 27, 2025 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
April 29, 2025 – Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
April 30, 2025 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
May 1, 2025 – Newcastle, UK @ Gosforth Civic Hall
May 2, 2025 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
May 3, 2025 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
May 6, 2025 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity Centre
May 7, 2025 – Exeter, UK @ Phoenix
May 8, 2025 – Southampton, UK @ Papillon
May 9, 2025 – London, UK @ Hackney Church
May 10, 2025 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde2
May 17, 2025 – Berlin, DE @ TBC
May 21, 2025 – Paris, FR @ Le Petit Bain
May 22, 2025 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
May 23, 2025 – Brussels, BE @ TBC
May 24, 2025 – Amsterdam, NL @ Zonnehuis
May 25, 2025 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
May 26, 2025 – Rotterdam, NL @ Bird
