"Pianist Julian Shore, [is] a rising star with a wide gaze and a firm sense of self... he uses each song as an opportunity for invention on the enthralling, multifaceted Which Way Now?... A sense of personalized sophistication and quiet intelligence, [is] stitched into every performance. He's one to follow, regardless of which way he goes." Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz - - Following "Filaments"—named a Top Jazz Debut in 2012 by Peter Hum of Ottawa Citizen and described as “an assured, organic debut from a pianist/composer who beyond the obvious elegance of his playing has a clear sense of the bigger artistic picture”—Julian Shore asks Which Way Now? Far from a statement of uncertainty, he poses the question to focus his record on the process of artistic exploration and the joy of musical discovery. With his second album Shore builds on the sonic foundation of his first, recognized for its “full use of a wide open musical palette” (All About Jazz) and his “sense of space usually reserved for more veteran players” (DownBeat). The band features a group of young but acclaimed musicians familiar to anyone closely following contemporary jazz. A combination of Dayna Stephens, Noah Preminger, and Godwin Louis helm his horn arrangements, riffing off of each other in dazzling interplay. Aidan Carroll on bass and Colin Stranahan on drums accompany him in the rhythm section, along with burgeoning star guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Shore highlights the diversity of his musical connections and sources of inspiration with a number of guests featured for a single track. On “Pine Needles”, he brings a touch of roots music with long time friend and Nashville mainstay Kurt Ozan on dobro and acoustic guitar. His arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” makes fresh a familiar tune, showing how comfortably a classic of the tradition sits within an album of more contemporary compositions. He taps Jorge Roeder on bass and Samuel Torres on percussion as musicians up to the task of conveying the song’s hybrid roots from throughout the Americas. Edward Perez, writer and arranger for Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, lends his deft pen on the string arrangement of the record’s opener “Our Story Begins on a Mountain.” Shore carries forward his affinity for writing compelling vocal pieces, with Alexa Barcini returning as a singer and lyricist for “Alpine.” Michael Mayo, currently studying at the Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz, voices the main part beautifully, with the two harmonizing to drive home the song’s message. Finally, the layering of Michael Thomas’s sure-handed woodwind work into the western swing of “Back Home” perfectly complements the shades of chamber music interwoven throughout the album.