sMiLes — Jowee Omicil's 11th Album Is Out Now

Released November 11, 2025 · BasH! Village Records

"Jazz — are you sure? Omicil doesn't just play jazz. He tears it apart, rebuilds it, makes it sing in Creole, groove in hip-hop, and pray in Vodou — all in a single breath." — Rolling Stone

Jowee Omicil has released his 11th studio album, sMiLes, on November 11, 2025 via BasH! Village Records — with CD and vinyl editions following on January 23, 2026. The album is both a creative manifesto and a deeply personal statement: a celebration of freedom, imperfection, and the courage to trust the note.

Across eleven original tracks — plus a bonus piece co-written and performed with Dominique Fils-Aimé — Omicil draws on a wide sonic universe: the legacy of Abbey Lincoln, the spirit of Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, and Roy Hargrove, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, gospel, hip-hop, and spontaneous improvisation. Recorded across studios in Paris, New York, Guadeloupe, and Montréal, as well as Omicil's own BasH! Lab, the album reflects both the breadth of his world and the intimacy of his artistic vision.

The response from international press has been immediate. DLF Kultur named it Jazz Discovery of the Year. Jazz Times called it "an otherworldly soundscape of organically tactile acoustic jazz." And Rolling Stone praised Omicil for tearing jazz apart and rebuilding it — in Creole, in hip-hop, in Vodou — all in a single breath.

Among the highlights: Trip to Ghana featuring Mawuena Kodjovi, Shorter Way to Marrakech with vocalist Malika Zarra, the solo piano meditation Lettre du Mali pour Jonathan, and the closing duet Should I sMiLe? — co-written with Dominique Fils-Aimé, who also appears on vocals.

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