Adrian Quesada Recruits Mary Lattimore & Neal Francis For ‘Starry Nights’ Single

Black Pumas’ guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada shared two new previews of his solo album, Jaguar Sound, which will be released by ATO Records this Friday, November 18. Quesada tapped harpist Mary Lattimore and keyboardist Neal Francis for the single “Starry Nights,” which arrived backed by the track “Rise Of The Have Nots.”

Jaguar Sound is Quesada’s second solo album released this year, following the June release of Boleros Psicodélicos, an homage to Latin America’s Balada music. Violinist Alexis Buffum also contributed to “Starry Nights,” which is one of 12 instrumental tracks making up Jaguar Sound, including the previously issued single “Noble Metals.”

“One of the few positive things that came out of the early pandemic was a reduced human impact on our planet and out of that came some rare and beautiful starry nights,” Quesada said of the track featuring Latimore and Francis. “I was inspired to make music that reflected the skies, very much capturing a moment in time.”

Quesada produced, wrote, engineered, mixed and largely performed the instrumentation across Jaugar Sound, which was recorded alongside Boleros Psicodélicos at his Electric Deluxe studio in Austin, Texas. The pending album was influenced by hip-hop, psychedelic soul and Italian film scores from the 1970s.

“I imagined an animated sci-fi film with a revolt against oppression of all kinds,” Quesada said of “Rise Of The Have Nots,” adding, “and the song plays out like a musical story, climaxing with a long but victorious battle.”

Quesada presented the new tracks with accompanying visualizers created by Telepath Design. Watch the videos for “Starry Nights” featuring Mary Lattimore and Neal Francis and “Rise Of The Have Nots” below: