#4497, London's New-Jazz Scene
Listen to new music coming from London jazzers – the supergroup Sons of Kemet and its members, drummer Moses Boyd, trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, the Afrobeat collective Kokoroko, and spiritual jazz by Maisha. Many of these players have ties to Tomorrow's Warriors, a crucial development platform of younger musicians of all kinds of different backgrounds who have been inspired by jazz.
It's the latest from the hypnotic double drums, sax, and tuba of Sons of Kemet, a quartet led by London-based Barbados-born saxophonist and composer Shabaka Hutchings, and propelled by tuba player Theon Cross, and two drummers - Tom Skinner and Eddie Hick. Sample three tracks from 2020's “powerful”, and “bracing and ambitious” record by Sons of Kemet called Black to the Future (-John Schaefer.) The album includes poets, rappers, and spoken word artists, giving vocals a more prominent place in the music, and the titles of each song can be read in sequence. The artistry is that Sons of Kemet’s urgent social commentary is delivered as an irresistible warehouse dance-jazz party for the end of time.
There’s also low-end led exuberant groove music by Sons of Kemet tuba player Theon Cross, with drummer Moses Boyd and London sax player Nubya Garcia, from his record FYAH, which touches on U.K. grime, Jamaican dub, Afrobeat and electronic music. Then, from Moses Boyd’s solo record (he’s also a producer-composer-collaborator-influencer), listen to space-float-chill-jazz with Boyd's hot beats, featuring South African vocalist Nonku Phiri and once again- London sax player Nubya Garcia.
But back to Shabaka Hutchings, who was also the musical director for the recent compilation We Out Here from Brownswood Recordings (DJ and producer Gilles Peterson's indie label which encompasses soul, electronica and jazz.) Listen to the collective Kokoroko (means ‘be strong’ in Urhobo), led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, and their song “Abusey Junction,” written by guitarist Oscar Jerome on the roof of a compound in Gambia. There’s also music by Maisha, an ensemble led by drummer Jake Long, inspired by spiritual jazz like Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders.
Plus, listen to trumpet works by Bahraini-British trumpet and flugelhorn-player, Yazz Ahmed. Also, hear a small snippet of music by the group Ezra Collective, led by drummer Femi Koleoso, which marries hip hop, Afrobeat, and electronic music into their unmistakably London sound. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4497, London's New-Jazz Scene (First Aired 5/18/2021)
ARTIST: Sons of Kemet
WORK: Hustle [1:00]
RECORDING: Black to the Future
SOURCE: Impulse!
INFO: https://sonsofkemet.lnk.to/blacktothefutureIB
ARTIST: Sons of Kemet
WORK: To Never Forget the Source [2:55]
RECORDING: Black to the Future
SOURCE: Impulse!
INFO: https://sonsofkemet.lnk.to/blacktothefutureIB
ARTIST: Sons of Kemet ft. Moor Mother
WORK: Pick Up Your Burning Cross [3:44]
RECORDING: Black to the Future
SOURCE: Impulse!
INFO: https://sonsofkemet.lnk.to/blacktothefutureIB
ARTIST: Sons of Kemet
WORK: Envision Yourself Levitating [8:23]
RECORDING: Black to the Future
SOURCE: Impulse!
INFO: https://sonsofkemet.lnk.to/blacktothefutureIB
ARTIST: Theon Cross
WORK: The Offerings [4:41]
RECORDING: FYAH
SOURCE/INFO: https://theoncross.bandcamp.com/album/fyah
ARTIST: Moses Boyd ft Nonku Phiri & Nubya Garcia
WORK: Nommos Descent [4:36]
RECORDING: Dark Matter
SOURCE: Exodus
INFO: https://mosesboyd.bandcamp.com/album/dark-matter-2
ARTIST: Kokoroko
WORK: Abusey Junction [7:09]
RECORDING: We Out Here
SOURCE: Brownswood Recordings
INFO: weouthere.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Yazz Ahmed
WORK: Jamil Jamal [8:12]
RECORDING: La Saboteuse
SOURCE/INFO: https://yazzahmed.bandcamp.com/album/la-saboteuse-2
ARTIST: Maisha
WORK: There is a Place [4:37]
RECORDING: There is a Place
SOURCE/INFO: maisha.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Ezra Collective
WORK: The Philosopher [4:37]
RECORDING: Live, Jan. 2019 on Soundcheck
SOURCE: newsounds.org/story/londons-groove-based-ezra-collective/
INFO: ezracollective.bandcamp.com
