Sons of Kemet — „Black to the Future“(May 14, 2021) ⇑ Tak, teď už chápu, jak se cítí sardinka v konzervárně. V posledních několika letech se hodně toho říkalo o živé nové jazzové scéně v Londýně. A v tomto časovém rámci byl Shabaka Hutchings často umístěn jako boďák (kužel světla) a středobod scény a to zcela pochopitelně. Hutchings je neuvěřitelně plodný a neustále vydává jedno či druhé vydání s jedním z těchto tří projektů. Je tu Shabaka And The Ancestors, kde spolupracuje s jihoafrickými jazzovými hudebníky. Je tu Comet Is Coming, psychedelické space voyage trio, které má s Danem Leaversem na syntezátorech a Maxem Hallettem na bicích. Pak je tu Sons Of Kemet, jeho chronologicky nejdelší a možná nejuznávanější projekt, o kterém jsme naposledy slyšeli v roce 2018, kdy vydali Your Queen Is A Reptile. Takže dnes na stránkách Tais Awards potřetí. Resumé: toto je jejich čtvrté album a druhé na Impulse! Ve srovnání s předešlým Your Queen is a Reptile se na tomto albu objevují vokalisté a spíše se klade důraz na plnější kompozice a aranžmá. Mezi hostující umělce patří Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid, Joshua Idehen, D Double E. Other albums: ★Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do (Naim Records, 2015) ★Burn (Naim Records, 2013) Location: London, UK Album release: May 14, 2021 Record Label: Impulse! Records Duration: 51:08 Tracks: 01. Field Negus (feat. Joshua Idehen) 3:03 02. Pick Up Your Burning Cross (feat. Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid) 3:44 03. Think Of Home 3:32 04. Hustle (feat. Kojey Radical) 5:18 05. For The Culture (feat. D Double E) 4:01 06. To Never Forget The Source 2:56 07. In Remembrance Of Those Fallen 5:06 08. Let The Circle Be Unbroken 6:29 09. Envision Yourself Levitating 8:23 10. Throughout The Madness Stay Strong5:53 11. Black (feat. Joshua Idehen) 2:43 Personnel: ★Shabaka Hutchings: woodwinds; ★Theon Cross: tuba; ★Tom Skinner: drums; ★Eddie Hick: drums. Additional Instrumentation: ★Shabaka Hutchings: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Theon Cross: tuba; Eddie Hick: drums, percussion; Tom Skinner: drums, percussion; Steve Williamson: tenor saxophone (1); Ife Ogunjobi: trumpet (5); Nathaniel Cross: trombone (5); Cassie Kinoshi: alto saxophone (5); Kebbi Williams: tenor saxophone (9); Joshua Idehen: vocals (1, 11); Angel Bat Dawid, Moor Mother: vocals (2); Kojey Radical: vocals (4); Lianne La Havas: backing vocals (4); D Double E: vocals (5).
Review By CHRIS MAY⌊April 30, 2021⌋Score: ★★★★½ ⇑ Sons of Kemet is led by tenor saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Shabaka Hutchings who, though he is far too modest to make any such claim himself, is the de facto standard~bearer for the new wave of musicians who have emerged on the London jazz scene since around 2015. The band is one of three Hutchings either leads or co~leads which are signed to Impulse!. The other two are the cosmic~fusion trio The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka & the Ancestors , who are based in South Africa. ⇑ Hutchings founded Sons of Kemet in 2011 with tuba player Theon Cross and the drummers Eddie Hick and Tom Skinner. Black to the Future is the band’s fourth album. It was recorded by the founding lineup (the drum chairs have shuffled around a bit over the years) — and it is a stone blinder. ⇑ Among the chief attributes of Sons Of Kemet — and also of Shabaka & The Ancestors and The Comet Is Coming — is that, however sophisticated the music is on one level, it also resonates with the lived experiences of its audience. It is the junction of the conservatoire and the shaman. There is an edge to it, a sense of drama, of danger, and of healing, too, all of which are absent from so much jazz in 2021 and which have increasingly been missing since the times of first generation bop, hard bop and spiritual jazz, leaving a vacuum into which hip hop and other musics have moved. ⇑ Like all Hutchings’ albums, Black to the Future comes with a manifesto~cum~sleeve note. The key passage reads: “The meaning [of the album] is not universal and the cultural context of the listener will shape their understanding…[but] the overarching message remains the same: for humanity to progress we must consider what it means to be Black To The Future.” The narrative is laid out in the sequence of track titles: Field Negus / Pick Up Your Burning Cross / Think of Home / Hustle / For the Culture / To Never Forget the Source / In Remembrance of Those Fallen / Let the Circle Be Unbroken / Envision Yourself Levitating / Throughout the Madness, Stay Strong / Black. ⇑ Spoken word features extensively and should there be any doubt about the album’s message, it is removed by the performance poets, MCs and rappers who are guest artists. These include Chicago’s Angel Bat Dawid, Philadelphia’s Moor Mother and London’s MC D Double E, Kojey Radical and Joshua Idehen. Instrumental guests include three of the younger stars emerging on the London scene: alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi and trombonist Nathaniel Cross. Another particularly welcome face is the pioneering tenor saxophonist Steve Williamson, who pre~pandemic was making a tentative return to the stage following a decade and more out of the public eye fighting depression. One of 2019’s live highlights was Williamson fronting his alma mater, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s, student Jazz Orchestra in a one~night~only performance titled “Celebrating Coltrane.” ⇑ A decade and more on from graduating from the Guildhall himself, Hutchinson is frequently described as a “saviour of jazz.” What does he think about that? “I think it’s a good marketing technique to sell some papers or get some clicks,” he says. “But I’m just doing my thing. Actually I don’t think jazz was ever in a compromising position, it never really needed saviours.” Be that as it may, Black To The Future is a shot in the arm. ⇑ https://www.allaboutjazz.com/black-to-the-future-sons-of-kemet-impulse-records BY RYAN LEAS ⌊MAY 11, 2021, 11:04 AM⌋ ⇑ https://www.stereogum.com/2146886/sons-of-kemet-black-to-the-future/reviews/album-of-the-week/ UMUSIC: https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/sons-of-kemet-announces-new-album-black-to-the-future-may-14-on-impulse-records/ WEB: http://www.shabakahutchings.com/sons-of-kemet/
⇑ Tak, teď už chápu, jak se cítí sardinka v konzervárně. V posledních několika letech se hodně toho říkalo o živé nové jazzové scéně v Londýně. A v tomto časovém rámci byl Shabaka Hutchings často umístěn jako boďák (kužel světla) a středobod scény a to zcela pochopitelně. Hutchings je neuvěřitelně plodný a neustále vydává jedno či druhé vydání s jedním z těchto tří projektů. Je tu Shabaka And The Ancestors, kde spolupracuje s jihoafrickými jazzovými hudebníky. Je tu Comet Is Coming, psychedelické space voyage trio, které má s Danem Leaversem na syntezátorech a Maxem Hallettem na bicích. Pak je tu Sons Of Kemet, jeho chronologicky nejdelší a možná nejuznávanější projekt, o kterém jsme naposledy slyšeli v roce 2018, kdy vydali Your Queen Is A Reptile. Takže dnes na stránkách Tais Awards potřetí. Resumé: toto je jejich čtvrté album a druhé na Impulse! Ve srovnání s předešlým Your Queen is a Reptile se na tomto albu objevují vokalisté a spíše se klade důraz na plnější kompozice a aranžmá. Mezi hostující umělce patří Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid, Joshua Idehen, D Double E.
Other albums:
★ Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do (Naim Records, 2015)
★ Burn (Naim Records, 2013)
Location: London, UK
Album release: May 14, 2021
Record Label: Impulse! Records
Duration: 51:08
Tracks:
01. Field Negus (feat. Joshua Idehen) 3:03
02. Pick Up Your Burning Cross (feat. Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid) 3:44
03. Think Of Home 3:32
04. Hustle (feat. Kojey Radical) 5:18
05. For The Culture (feat. D Double E) 4:01
06. To Never Forget The Source 2:56
07. In Remembrance Of Those Fallen 5:06
08. Let The Circle Be Unbroken 6:29
09. Envision Yourself Levitating 8:23
10. Throughout The Madness Stay Strong 5:53
11. Black (feat. Joshua Idehen) 2:43
Personnel:
★ Shabaka Hutchings: woodwinds;
★ Theon Cross: tuba;
★ Tom Skinner: drums;
★ Eddie Hick: drums.
Additional Instrumentation:
★ Shabaka Hutchings: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Theon Cross: tuba; Eddie Hick: drums, percussion; Tom Skinner: drums, percussion; Steve Williamson: tenor saxophone (1); Ife Ogunjobi: trumpet (5); Nathaniel Cross: trombone (5); Cassie Kinoshi: alto saxophone (5); Kebbi Williams: tenor saxophone (9); Joshua Idehen: vocals (1, 11); Angel Bat Dawid, Moor Mother: vocals (2); Kojey Radical: vocals (4); Lianne La Havas: backing vocals (4); D Double E: vocals (5).
Review
By CHRIS MAY ⌊April 30, 2021⌋ Score: ★★★★½
⇑ Sons of Kemet is led by tenor saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Shabaka Hutchings who, though he is far too modest to make any such claim himself, is the de facto standard~bearer for the new wave of musicians who have emerged on the London jazz scene since around 2015. The band is one of three Hutchings either leads or co~leads which are signed to Impulse!. The other two are the cosmic~fusion trio The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka & the Ancestors , who are based in South Africa.
⇑ Hutchings founded Sons of Kemet in 2011 with tuba player Theon Cross and the drummers Eddie Hick and Tom Skinner. Black to the Future is the band’s fourth album. It was recorded by the founding lineup (the drum chairs have shuffled around a bit over the years) — and it is a stone blinder.
⇑ Among the chief attributes of Sons Of Kemet — and also of Shabaka & The Ancestors and The Comet Is Coming — is that, however sophisticated the music is on one level, it also resonates with the lived experiences of its audience. It is the junction of the conservatoire and the shaman. There is an edge to it, a sense of drama, of danger, and of healing, too, all of which are absent from so much jazz in 2021 and which have increasingly been missing since the times of first generation bop, hard bop and spiritual jazz, leaving a vacuum into which hip hop and other musics have moved.
⇑ Like all Hutchings’ albums, Black to the Future comes with a manifesto~cum~sleeve note. The key passage reads: “The meaning [of the album] is not universal and the cultural context of the listener will shape their understanding…[but] the overarching message remains the same: for humanity to progress we must consider what it means to be Black To The Future.” The narrative is laid out in the sequence of track titles: Field Negus / Pick Up Your Burning Cross / Think of Home / Hustle / For the Culture / To Never Forget the Source / In Remembrance of Those Fallen / Let the Circle Be Unbroken / Envision Yourself Levitating / Throughout the Madness, Stay Strong / Black.
⇑ Spoken word features extensively and should there be any doubt about the album’s message, it is removed by the performance poets, MCs and rappers who are guest artists. These include Chicago’s Angel Bat Dawid, Philadelphia’s Moor Mother and London’s MC D Double E, Kojey Radical and Joshua Idehen. Instrumental guests include three of the younger stars emerging on the London scene: alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi and trombonist Nathaniel Cross. Another particularly welcome face is the pioneering tenor saxophonist Steve Williamson, who pre~pandemic was making a tentative return to the stage following a decade and more out of the public eye fighting depression. One of 2019’s live highlights was Williamson fronting his alma mater, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s, student Jazz Orchestra in a one~night~only performance titled “Celebrating Coltrane.”
⇑ A decade and more on from graduating from the Guildhall himself, Hutchinson is frequently described as a “saviour of jazz.” What does he think about that? “I think it’s a good marketing technique to sell some papers or get some clicks,” he says. “But I’m just doing my thing. Actually I don’t think jazz was ever in a compromising position, it never really needed saviours.” Be that as it may, Black To The Future is a shot in the arm.
⇑ https://www.allaboutjazz.com/black-to-the-future-sons-of-kemet-impulse-records
BY RYAN LEAS ⌊MAY 11, 2021, 11:04 AM⌋
⇑ https://www.stereogum.com/2146886/sons-of-kemet-black-to-the-future/reviews/album-of-the-week/
UMUSIC: https://www.umusic.ca/press-releases/sons-of-kemet-announces-new-album-black-to-the-future-may-14-on-impulse-records/
WEB: http://www.shabakahutchings.com/sons-of-kemet/