Copy of a Memory

Copy of a Memory (2026)

Recorded with longtime collaborators Sandy Eldred and Matt Scarano, Copy of a Memory includes 4 new tracks from the I’m Not There sessions and alternate takes of 6 of the album’s tracks.

About Copy of a Memory…

Culled from the same February 2025 recording sessions that birthed the full-length I’m Not There, guitarist Mike Lorenz shares a set of music left on the cutting-room floor, titled Copy of a Memory.

“Though not programmatic, the music on I’m Not There has a thematic and emotional thread that runs throughout. These pieces were in the running for the record but didn’t fit in with the greater message of the record as whole. Despite that, we felt they were still worth sharing.” - Mike Lorenz

“Copy of a Memory” is the oldest piece of music brought to the session, composed in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted our world and lives. It has remained a staple of Lorenz’s live sets and is a benchmark for the combination of jazz improvisation, tuneful melodies, and quirky forms at the core of recent projects.

“Figure 72” is a piece that took a number of years to find its place and final shape. The title is a small reference to Elliott Smith’s album Figure 8. A friend once told Mike he thought the song sounded like Jimi Hendrix. This one is fun and deceptively tricky.

“Again & Again & Again” is a piece that emerged in an afternoon in 2024 while Mike was languishing in a difficult teaching assignment. Though the approach on this recording is rather laidback, Mike has always felt this song to be akin to a down-tempo John Scofield tune. The title meditates on the idea of letting something happen to you again & again, even when you know it’s coming.

“Downturn” was also composed in the spring of 2024 on a downtuned 1962 Martin 0-16 NY that was in desperate need of a bridge repair. Another fun one that has become a staple of Lorenz’s live sets.

The remaining tracks on Copy of a Memory are alternate takes of pieces found on I’m Not There. From Lorenz: “The versions that ended up on the finished album are perhaps the definitive versions of these songs. However, there is some magic in hearing them expressed differently with different instruments. These songs complete the circle of something I was trying to explore with this record… how an acoustic or electric instrument can impact the expression of any given piece of music. I find these recordings to be just as exciting as what ended up on I’m Not There.”

Praise for I’m Not There…

“While Lorenz plays both acoustic and electric guitar, the music on I’m Not There emphasizes the acoustic side of his musical personality. Among the highlights are the lightly funky “Never Seen,” an optimistic groove during “One Can Hope,” an out-of-tempo and conversational “I Don’t Have Time To Love You,’ the brooding and melancholy ballad “Not The Same,” and the triumphant and joyful closer “Beta.” - Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Record

“At its core, I’m Not There is shaped by absence as much as presence—by what has changed, what has been lost, and what remains. Lorenz frames the record as a document of transition, but also as a reaffirmation of musical connection: between three players who have worked together for nearly two decades, and between composition and improvisation as intertwined modes of storytelling.

The result is a record that feels grounded yet searching, structured yet open—an intimate trio statement that reflects both where Mike Lorenz has been and where his music is heading next.” - Jazz Chill

Copy of a Memory is available for pre-order now on CD and digital download through Mike Lorenz’s Bandcamp & Website.

The tracklisting for Copy of a Memory is as follows:

  1. Copy of a Memory (Lorenz)

  2. Figure 72 (Lorenz)

  3. Again & Again & Again (Lorenz)

  4. Downturn (Lorenz)

  5. I Don’t Have Time to Love You alternate take (Lorenz)

  6. One Can Hope alternate take (Lorenz)

  7. Renovated Heart alternate take (Lorenz)

  8. Beta alternate take (Lorenz)

  9. We Used to Talk All the Time alternate take (Lorenz)

  10. Where Do You Go? alternate take (Lorenz)

Mike Lorenz, acoustic & electric guitar

Sandy Eldred, bass

Matt Scarano, drums

Recorded by John Anthony at Gradwell House Recording, February 2025

Mixed and edited by John Anthony

Mastered by G&J Audio

Artwork, layout & design by Mike Lorenz

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