Let’s go back to 1964, when two Australian biologists published a scientific paper in Nature discussing the phenomenon of the smell of rain, coining the term “petrichor.” The word has since entered everyday vocabulary. In essence, during periods of heat and drought, the clay at the base of plants collects oils that, upon the first rainfall, release an intense, balsamic, and poetic scent. This aroma is both fragile and powerful, capable of constructing a shared grammar of human experience so personal that it becomes a trigger for memory—a Proustian madeleine, a form of déjà vu. Renee Rosnes is surprised to learn that petrichor even has a translation in Italian. It is the fourth track on Arboresque, her brand-new album with Artemis, the all-woman quintet, for Blue Note. This marks their first release since the acclaimed In Real Time, issued just over a year ago. As its title suggests, Arboresque centers […]