“The music on Dynamic Maximum Tension consists mostly of portraits of people—Buckminster Fuller and Alan Turing and Mae West and Duke Ellington,” composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue says of his upcoming album with his Secret Society ensemble in a new behind-the-scenes video. "I tried to think about, well, what are the places in my life where I turn to look for optimism and inspiration and the idea that the future is something to be anticipated rather than dreaded. So that’s the impetus for so much of the music on this record—to look to a period in the past where the future seemed brighter than it does today, and to try to find a way to represent that optimism about the future in music some way.” You can watch the video, directed by Reuben Hernandez at PowerStation at BerkleeNYC, here.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society has released “Last Waltz for Levon,” a new song from their upcoming album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, due September 8. The track, which you can hear here, is dedicated to drummer and vocalist Levon Helm of The Band. Argue’s treatment, featuring solos by trombonist Mike Fahie and bassist Matt Clohesy, is also inspired by the horn arrangements written by legendary songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint for The Band’s classic live album Rock of Ages. Argue and Secret Society celebrate the release of Dynamic Maximum Tension with a four-night run at NYC’s Jazz Gallery, September 13–16.

Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue and his Secret Society ensemble make their Nonesuch Records debut with Dynamic Maximum Tension on September 8. The album pays homage to some of Argue’s key influences with original songs dedicated to R. Buckminster Fuller, Alan Turing, and Mae West. Cécile McLorin Salvant joins for “Mae West: Advice.” You can watch the ensemble perform the album track “Dymaxion”—a portmanteau of “dynamic maximum tension”—from the song’s recording session, here.