Irish jazz vocalist Stella Bass is set to release her new single Time To Fly on Friday, 28 August 2026, an upbeat original big band number that marks a new chapter in her work as both performer and producer.
Written and arranged by veteran composer and bandleader Dave Gold, Time To Fly has an unusual origin story. The song was written in 2024 following a good-natured bet with a friend who challenged Gold to write and arrange an entire big band song from scratch in just two weeks. Gold, who has more than 60 years in the music business, responded by completing it in just two days.
The resulting song draws on the classic big band sound of the 1940s and '50s and carries an appropriately uplifting message about overcoming fear and self-doubt and taking a leap of faith.
Bass heard the song earlier this year and immediately wanted to record it. But Time To Fly would become much more than another recording project.
From a Dublin Home Studio to a Global Big Band
For the first time, Bass took complete control of producing and engineering a release herself.
Having taught herself music production using Logic Pro during the pandemic, she spent April and May building Time To Fly instrument by instrument. Working remotely from her home studio in Dublin, Bass recorded an international cast of session musicians individually, using Gold's original charts to gradually assemble the full big band arrangement.
The musicians involved bring an extraordinary range of experience to the recording. Drummer Adam Alesi's credits include Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, while saxophonist Jeremy Lappitt has worked with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Temptations and Pharrell Williams. Trombonist Luke Malewicz has performed with the Grammy-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Christian McBride and Randy Brecker.
The international lineup is completed by bassist Bruno Migliari and guitarist Davi Mello in Rio de Janeiro, pianist Jason Park, and Hungarian trumpeter Bence Táborsky.
Bass then recorded her own vocals at home before the track was mixed by Dave McCune of Ventry Studios in Dublin, who also worked on her 2014 debut album. Mastering was handled by three-time Latin Grammy winner Luciano Vassão.
“Taking complete control of the production on Time To Fly was slightly terrifying but incredibly liberating, especially as a woman in the business,” says Bass.
“It allowed me to take the time to bring Dave’s brilliant arrangement to life exactly as we both envisioned.”
The experience of recording musicians around the world from her Dublin studio was, she says, “mind-blowing” and ultimately elevated the recording beyond what she initially thought possible.
The Beginning of Something New
Time To Fly is also the first in what Bass plans to make an ongoing series of self-produced original singles.
Over the past year she has been developing new material through songwriting sessions and songcamps around Europe, while also returning to songs that had previously remained unfinished. Her newly developed production skills have given her the opportunity to bring those projects from demos and ideas through to finished recordings herself.
Bass plans to continue that momentum with a new original release approximately every two months, including material developed through songwriting sessions in Berlin, Riga and Dublin.
The new single follows her 2024 album Look for the Silver Lining, which appeared on the first-round ballot for the 67th Grammy Awards in the Jazz Album category. Bass has since become a Grammy Voting Member of the Recording Academy's New York Chapter, made her debut with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and performed two sold-out Stella Sings Ella shows at the 2025 Cork Jazz Festival.
Hear ‘Time To Fly’ Live in Dublin
Just three days after the single's release, Bass will perform Time To Fly live with the Hot House Big Band at Tolka House in Glasnevin on Monday, 31 August.
The performance forms part of the Hot House Big Band's regular residency at Tolka House, led by saxophonist Mark Wilde, and will serve as an informal launch for the new single.
[View the Hot House Big Band event on Jazz Ireland]
Stella Bass on In the Groove
Jazz Ireland recently caught up with Stella for Episode 15 of In the Groove.
In conversation with Hayley Kavanagh & Eric Doyle, Stella talks about her musical journey, her work as a jazz vocalist and the experiences that have shaped her career – offering an opportunity to get to know the musician behind Time To Fly.
[Watch In the Groove Episode #15 – Stella Bass]
Time To Fly by Stella Bass is released on Friday, 28 August 2026 and will be available on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms.
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