Charlie Kohlhase’s Explorers Club celebrates the release of ‘A Second Life,’ out in June from Mandorla Music and available in double vinyl and digital formats.

‘A Second Life’ is a fantastic collection of Charlie’s original compositions and interpretations of work by Elmo Hope, John Tchicai and Roswell Rudd. The album was recorded in 2022, documenting an important iteration of this long-running band: Charlie Kohlhase on alto, tenor, baritone saxophones , Seth Meicht on tenor saxophone, Daniel Rosenthal on trumpet & flugelhorn, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Josiah Reibstein on tuba, Eric Hofbauer on guitar, Tony Leva on bass and Curt Newton on drums. For this concert, the Explorers’ trombone chair will be occupied by Bill Lowe, who’s come on board since these sessions.

Why ‘A Second Life’?

Charlie says, “I am a Gay man living with HIV—and the accent should be on living, as the disease is treatable today. I got infected in the winter of 2015 (the winter Bostonians remember as the ‘eight feet of snow’ winter) and what I’ve since learned about HIV is that, untreated, it will turn into full-blown AIDS and kill you in about seven years. Early in 2022 I came to the realization that without the two pills I take daily, I would be dying. I also came to realize that there were people I knew in the ’70s who were likely HIV positive before anyone knew that HIV/AIDS was a thing. I feel like I am living a ‘second life’ now and am grateful for the excellent medical treatment that I’ve received here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This album is dedicated to the 40 million people who have died of AIDS without the benefit of modern treatment, which in some parts of the world continues today, and particularly to those closest to me: Brian Combs, Lionel Cuffie, Barry Savage, and Calvan Vail. Many thanks to ActUp and the other activists who put their bodies and lives on the line to push for more research into the disease at a time when the U.S. government was dragging its feet while thousands were dying. Special thanks to my doctors—Daniel Bourque, Mary Ellen Rhinehart, and Daniel Solomon—who reassured me that I was going to live a normal life.”

We hope you’ll come celebrate with us!

General admission tickets $15 in advance, $20 day of show. Students $10, under 18 free.