Blue Heron Suite
{{Infobox album
| name = Blue Heron Suite
| type = album
| artist = Sarah Jarosz
| cover = Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite.png
| alt =
| released = May 7, 2021
| recorded = December 2018 (Reservoir Studios, New York City)
| venue =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 31:21
| label = Rounder
| producer = Sarah Jarosz
| prev_title = World on the Ground
| prev_year = 2020
| next_title = Polaroid Lovers
| next_year = 2024
}}
Blue Heron Suite is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz. It was released on May 7, 2021, by Rounder Records.
Background
Jarosz began composing songs for the project in 2017 shortly after she became a recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission; she subsequently debuted the songs at that year's FreshGrass Festival.{{cite web |title=Sarah Jarosz: Composition Commission - FreshGrass Foundation |url=https://freshgrassfoundation.org/freshgrass-commission/sarah-jarosz/ |website=FreshGrass Foundation |access-date=September 14, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609165418/https://freshgrassfoundation.org/freshgrass-commission/sarah-jarosz/ |url-status=live }} The album was recorded throughout December 2018 at the Reservoir Studios in New York City.{{cite web |last1=Chandler |first1=Stacy |title=Sarah Jarosz Announces ‘Blue Heron Suite,’ Recording of a FreshGrass Commission Honoring Her Mother |url=https://www.nodepression.com/sarah-jarosz-announces-blue-heron-suite-recording-of-a-freshgrass-commission-honoring-her-mother/ |website=No Depression |access-date=September 14, 2023 |date=April 14, 2021 |archive-date=September 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922045650/https://www.nodepression.com/sarah-jarosz-announces-blue-heron-suite-recording-of-a-freshgrass-commission-honoring-her-mother/ |url-status=live }}
Critical reception
Writing for American Songwriter, Lee Zimmerman rated the album four out of five stars and wrote that the collection of songs were "as haunting as they are harrowing, thanks in large part to the delicate designs and the precision that applied in the playing." He concluded his review by writing that the album was "a decidedly mature work that evokes rumination and deliberation in equal measure."{{cite web |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Lee |title=Review: With Her Latest Album, Sarah Jarosz Partakes of Both Inspiration and Optimism |url=https://americansongwriter.com/review-with-her-latest-album-sarah-jarosz-partakes-of-both-inspiration-and-optimism/ |website=American Songwriter |access-date=September 14, 2023 |date=May 7, 2021 |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201205151/https://americansongwriter.com/review-with-her-latest-album-sarah-jarosz-partakes-of-both-inspiration-and-optimism/ |url-status=live }} Henry Carrigan of Folk Alley positively reviewed the album and wrote that it "captures the feelings of transience that lurk around the edges of our lives and that come into the light in times when we face possible loss."{{cite web |last1=Carrigan |first1=Henry |title=Album Review: Sarah Jarosz, ‘Blue Heron Suite’ |url=https://folkalley.com/album-review-sarah-jarosz-blue-heron-suite/ |website=Folk Alley |access-date=September 14, 2023 |date=May 7, 2021 |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530081708/https://folkalley.com/album-review-sarah-jarosz-blue-heron-suite/ |url-status=live }}
Track listing
{{track listing
| headline = Blue Heron Suite track listing
| total_length = 31:21
| title1 = Mama
| length1 = 2:30
| title2 = Morning
| length2 = 3:28
| title3 = Across the Canyon
| length3 = 3:17
| title4 = Interlude 1
| length4 = 3:53
| title5 = Painted Blue
| length5 = 4:21
| title6 = Interlude 2
| length6 = 1:14
| title7 = Across the Canyon
| note7 = reprise
| length7 = 2:34
| title8 = Interlude 3
| length8 = 2:10
| title9 = Mama
| note9 = reprise
| length9 = 2:31
| title10 = Interlude 4
| length10 = 0:55
| title11 = Blue Heron
| length11 = 4:28
}}
Credits and personnel
Credits for Blue Heron Suite adapted from Tidal.{{cite web |title=Credits / Blue Heron Suite / Sarah Jarosz |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/182433101/credits |website=Tidal |access-date=September 14, 2023}}
- Sarah Jarosz - vocals, composer, lyricist, mandolin, guitar, production
- Jefferson Harmer - guitar, background vocals
- Jeff Picker - bass guitar
- Jason Wormer - recording engineering, mixing
- Gavin Lurssen - mastering engineering, studio personnel