Pack Animals by Jeff Walton

released June 27, 2025

Compositions by Jeff Walton (Go Jules! Music; ASCAP)

Jeff Walton - Tenor Saxophone
Santiago Leibson - Piano
Eli Heath - Bass
Chase Elodia - Drums

Recorded June 26-27, 2023 at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY.

Recording + Mixing: Aaron Nevezie
Mastering: Alex DeTurk
Photography: Eileen Meny
Album Artwork + Design: Carolin L. Prinn

Liner Notes by Vinnie Sperrazza:

Charlie Parker spoke the truth and said it best: “Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.” Tenor saxophonist Jeff Walton, a native of Massachusetts, has been pursuing jazz since his teen years. Now in his early forties, with the conviction and confidence that only comes with real-life experience, Pack Animals is his debut as a leader. The eight distinct and fully-formed original tunes, all composed and arranged by Walton for a quartet featuring himself, pianist Santiago Leibson, bassist Eli Heath, and drummer Chase Elodia, reflect the commitment to be himself that’s guided his whole adult life.

“I studied jazz at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and got to work with Donald Walden and Geri Allen. I loved it, but after graduating I stepped away from music.” Walton moved to NYC, but instead of jam sessions and late nights, he pursued his other college interests, literature and languages. He taught English as a Second Language, learned Italian, and pursued creative writing—until a brush with hearing loss at a lake party led Walton back to music. “This guy fooling with an air horn caused me months of ear pain, but in the end I was grateful to still be able to hear and experience music.”

Soon after picking his horn back up, Walton was invited by Geri Allen to perform a set at the Stone in 2012. “That was a great honor for me,” comments Jeff. Two years later, Walton created and organized the band program at Uncommon Schools in Brooklyn from scratch, a major achievement. “Teaching helped me to expand my musical interests. In my early thirties, I got into choral music. I joined a community choir on a whim and loved it, and soon I was singing in three choirs and writing for choir, too. I think you can hear that influence on this album.”

Dovetailing with his choral experience, Walton’s longtime interest in composition led him to NY Phil concerts and nights at the Metropolitan Opera, while trying his hand at a few chamber works. Studies with pianist Jacob Sacks seemed to tie it all together: “Jacob showed me how everything I was interested in—opera, choral music, symphonic, chamber music, jazz, and popular styles—was connected, as he says, beneath the surface-layer of the music.”

Now in his thirties, no longer just another young saxophonist, Walton started expanding his circle in Brooklyn, sitting in and arranging sessions. “I met Santiago Leibson at Oscar Noreiga’s regular gig at Barbes. I felt a connection right away and knew I wanted him on this album. He has the range to play both highly specific and very free music.”

During the COVID lockdown, Chase Elodia heard a chamber work of Walton’s during a composer’s workshop on Zoom. Impressed with Jeff’s writing, he messaged Walton about playing together. “I met Chase through the choral world, and then I found out he’s a jazz drummer. On top of that, he’s a composer and a writer, so he and I are a natural fit. Chase had also played at Oberlin with Eli Heath, who I met when he applied for a music teaching job at Uncommon Schools.”

In 2023, now married and soon to be a father, Walton assembled Heath, Elodia, and Leibson at the Bunker in Brooklyn to record Pack Animals. Drawing on all his experiences and interests, Pack Animals shows Walton’s complete conception, almost his musical autobiography. Pack Animals is aptly named, since it’s a true group effort, as each track shows the group’s unity and shared understanding. They’re in sync and simpatico, always playing to each other’s strengths.

What’s more, the album is all the richer for the winding path Walton took. Many new releases, wonderful as they are, have their roots in the bonds formed at college jazz programs. Not so with Pack Animals. The eight tunes, depicting a range of moods and layers of meaning, stem from Walton’s varied background and the diverse scenes from which he assembled his rhythm section. Pack Animals stands out, and the unique backstory of Walton and the band is one reason why.

“NQT”, with detailed counterpoint between bass, piano, and saxophone, suggests a busy street in a crowded neighborhood. Jeff’s attractive tone, a beguiling mix of light and shade, draws the listener right in, his ideas unfolding at their own pace. He’s poised, confident, and unpredictable. Kudos to the sympathetic and cohesive rhythm section—Leibson, Heath, and Elodia sound great individually and together, conveying Walton’s intent and bringing the music to life.

“Blues For George”’, to-the-point and effective, shows how close the jazz tradition is to Jeff’s heart, while “Pack Animals” is Walton’s proposal for the meeting place of new music and jazz. Chase Elodia, the free agent here, suggests a classical percussionist roaming over Walton’s theme, while Heath, Leibson, and Jeff play the ink and sing the song. Nice one cats!

On “Orange Away”, a gentle swinger in 3/4, Walton’s solo emerges so naturally from the theme that his opening chorus feels composed, an inevitable variation on the bittersweet melody. “Ceilings”, inspired by the inner-voice parts Walton sang in choirs, features some great trading between Santi and Jeff—no ego or contest, just two simpatico melodists.

“San Diego”, the most straight-ahead tune, opens with a tasty a cappella statement from Walton before settling into a medium-up 4/4. On the groovy “Easy Tease”, Jeff shines brightly, nicely buoyed by Chase, his low-tuned kit fitting snugly into the pocket with Santi and Eli. Love to hear the group find the dance in Walton’s bass line.

The album closes with “Crunch”, an open and expressive piece that summarizes all we’ve heard. After a slow, melancholy intro, the energetic, almost anxious theme morphs into a group improv, which itself resolves into a beautiful unaccompanied interlude from Leibson. Finally, the theme, with modifications, is restated. Walton’s message is clear: what had once been tense and unsettled is now assured and confident.

Pack Animals is fun and memorable, the strong debut of a new voice, both formed by and reflecting the winding path Jeff Walton took to bring us this music. The journey doesn’t end here. Since that day at the Bunker, Walton and his family have relocated to Los Angeles, having handed the band program he began at Uncommon Schools to a new director. In LA, Walton has begun building a new community of like-minded souls, rededicating himself to artistic growth.

Three cheers for Jeff Walton and his Pack Animals band! Seriousness, integrity, and dedication win every time.