Axiom Quarter, Karl Blench - Jacqui Sutton: Open Source
(Navona Records, 2026)
Houston’s musical landscape converges in Open Source, a 32-minute song cycle composed by Karl Blench—the Axiom Quartet’s composer-in-residence and orchestrator for Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony. To craft the narrative, Blench collaborated with librettist Jacqui Sutton, a pioneer of the “Frontier Jazz”1 genre known for blending American roots music with jazz. Sutton’s efforts led to two well received recordings: Billie & Dolly (Toy Blue Typewriter Productions, 2011) and Notes From The Frontier: A Musical Journey (Self Produced, 2012).
The work was commissioned by the First Congregational Church of Houston to celebrate its pioneering role in welcoming people of color during the Civil Rights Era. Sutton, drawing on her experience as a poet and vocalist, interviewed the church’s founders to weave their stories into an “everyman’s journey for belonging.” Blench then anchored the score in the church’s own hymnal, specifically the hymn “Wherever I May Wander,” to explore themes of sanctuary and community.
The performance features the Axiom Quartet—an American Prize-winning ensemble founded by Rice University graduates Dominika Dancewicz and Patrick Moore, and featuring violinist Matt Lammers and violist Nina Bledsoe—alongside acclaimed bass-baritone Timothy Jones, an associate professor at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. Together, they bring Open Source to life as a grace-filled appeal for unity, reflecting both the church’s accessible ethos and the collaborative spirit of Houston’s leading musical voices.
Bailey, C Michael. “Jacqui Sutton: At the Edge of the Frontier.” All About Jazz. Allaboutjazz.com, December 3, 2012. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jacqui-sutton-at-the-edge-of-the-frontier-jacqui-sutton-by-c-michael-bailey.