Fifteen, the first album from the collective trio of saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill, pianist Vijay Iyer, and drummer Dafnis Prieto, is out August 21, 2026 on Nonesuch Records. It is the label debut for all three musicians. The record takes its name from the number of years the trio has been performing together—first at a series of benefits for the New York City club the Jazz Gallery, a club they have since played at periodically, and then around the US and internationally. It comprises three compositions by Threadgill and Iyer and two by Prieto. The album track “I Wanted a Map,” written by Iyer, is available now, along with this video made during the recording session:
Threadgill, Iyer, and Prieto are three of the most celebrated composer-performers of our time. Their collective project, informally dubbed “The Trio,” began in 2012 when Rio Sakairi from the Jazz Gallery called upon these three acclaimed musicians to participate in a fundraiser. Despite their preexisting musical ties, they all felt a unique spark in the mysterious flow of this musical encounter. They have steadily developed the project over the ensuing years, each musician serving as a composer and creative soloist, bringing each of their distinct backgrounds and strong personalities into the group dynamic.
Their shared composer orientation gives the ensemble a special, continually evolving quality. These artists are not only electrifying performers, but also visionary creators and thinkers. As Threadgill states, “each time we come together to perform, it seems brand new… We’ve got three composers here. Every time the music changes, it holds up a different world, because it’s coming from a different place—because of each one of us, [and] our different approaches to composition.”
From Cuba, Dafnis Prieto’s revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the music landscape, nationally and internationally. His honors include a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, a GRAMMY Award for Back to the Sunset (2018), two additional GRAMMY nominations, two Latin GRAMMY nominations (including Best New Artist in 2007), and the Jazz Journalists Association’s Up & Coming Musician of the Year in 2006.
As a composer, Prieto has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands, ranging from duets to big bands. His ten distinctive recordings as a leader include About the Monks, Absolute Quintet, Taking the Soul for a Walk, Sí o Sí Quartet: Live at Jazz Standard NYC, Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio, Triangles and Circles, Back to the Sunset, Transparency, Cantar, and 3 Sides of the Coin.
In 2022, Prieto premiered Tentación, a new work for Latin band and string orchestra, performed by People of Earth with the Louisville Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and Britt Festival Orchestra. He has also received commissions, grants, and fellowships from organizations including Chamber Music America, Princeton University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall/NYO Jazz, MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and New Music USA.
Since arriving in New York in 1999—a moment described by the New York Times as “an asteroid hitting the city”—Prieto has performed at major venues and festivals around the world as a bandleader and collaborated with artists including Michel Camilo, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri, Chico and Arturo O’Farrill, Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project, Jane Bunnett, Roy Hargrove, Don Byron, Andrew Hill, and Chucho and Bebo Valdés, among others.
A dedicated educator, Prieto served on the jazz studies faculty at New York University from 2005-14 and joined the faculty at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music in 2015, where he directs the Frost Latin Jazz Orchestra. He is also the author of three books: A World of Rhythmic Possibilities (2016), Rhythmic Synchronicity (2020), and What Are the Odds (2025).
