Dana and Alden

Jazz duo Dana & Alden have always had a wanderlust, something they credit to their maternal

grandfather. Affectionately known as Papa, he was the kind of person others naturally gravitate

towards. It was a photograph from one of his trips to Asia that inspired the Eugene, OR duo’s

new album Papa’s Boat. In the image Papa is looking out across the horizon and stood next to

his boat Sŵn y Môr (Welsh for “Sound of the Sea.”)

“I think so much of what Alden and I are doing comes from just watching him live his own unique life,” says Dana. Alden agrees.

“His emboldened, passionate personality gave us permission to

be our own selves, to be unconventional and draw outside of the box.

”Recorded with Malcolm Catto in London in March 2025, Papa’s Boat combines all their

childhood love and global experience to create an ecstatic sound built on Dana’s saxophone

and Alden’s drums. Recorded with the duo’s backing band, Ebba Dankel (vocals and keys),

Andrew Mitchell (bass), Eli Torgersen (vocals and guitar) and Salim Charvet (sax and synths),

Papa’s Boat is rooted in jazz but pulling influence from indie, pop, rap, bossa nova, and beyond.

A hypnotic combination of sax and buzzing synths on “Lighthouse” sets the tone for an album

that uses water as both a reflective surface and a body to get lost in. Elsewhere there are

collaborations with Mei Semones, Melanie Charles, and legendary Brazilian songwriter Marcos

Valle, a hero figure to the band who appears on “El Gaucho” and “Friendship Is A Boat.”

Throughout its runtime Papa’s Boat sails purposefully between memories of the past and visions

of a brighter future. It doesn’t just commemorate their Papa as a beloved character, but shares

him with the world.