For those not in the know, Joe Elefante has traveled 4 continents playing and conducting jazz and musical theater. Joe founded the Joe Elefante Big Band in 2001, which was the house band at Cecil’s Jazz Club for three years, and was featured on ABC’s Nightline and in the Wall Street Journal.

He was named a Jazz Ambassador by the Kennedy Center, and has toured Eastern Europe and the Middle East as a jazz pianist for the U.S. State Department.

Joe’s latest project is Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma, a jazz quintet featuring Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Erena Terakubo on saxophone, Sameer Shankar on bass, and David Heilman on drums.

WOD performs all original material, but with a reverent eye on the past, present, and future of the music.

Return of the Light (which is due out October 24th, 2025) is the dynamic new album from jazz pianist and composer Joe Elefante, featuring his quintet Wheel of Dharma - a powerhouse lineup including Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Erena Terakubo (alto sax), Sameer Shankar (bass), and David Heilman (drums).

The record blends post-bop intensity with modal spaciousness and spiritual reflection, drawing inspiration from Buddhist philosophy and the seasonal symbolism of renewal.

Elefante offers nine original compositions that balance complexity with emotional resonance. From the high-energy angularity of Simple Girl to the meditative beauty of Nobly Born, Return of the Light invites listeners into a musical journey of resilience, groove, and transformation.

Furthermore, the album is perfect for fans of spiritual jazz, modern hard bop, and thoughtful, composer-driven improvisation.

1. Jazz for Dummies
2. Mudita
3. Return of the Light
4. Cromwell
5. Ankara Blues
6. Nobly Born
7. Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)
8. Simple Girl
9. Loving Kindness
10. Sore on the Floor
11. Some Other Blues

The U.S. Jazz Ambassador and jazz educator opens his brand new recording on the gently luxuriant swing of Jazz for Dummies and the all-embracing Mudita and then we get the sparkling title track Return of the Light, a dutifully stoic Cromwell and the veritably glistening Ankara Blues.

Along next is the emotive Nobly Born which is in turn backed by the impassioned Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder), the coursing Simple Girl, a taste of Latin hipsway then comes to the fore on the smoldering Loving Kindness, the set rounding out on the resplendent Sore on the Floor, coming to a close on the fervently sculpted toe-tapper Some Other Blues.

www.wodquintet.com

Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma @ Facebook

Joe Elefante’s Wheel of Dharma @ Instagram