London jazz wizard Shabaka Hutchings: Sons of Kemet / The Comet Is Coming / Shabaka & the Ancestors

Perhaps beyond the official remit of this thread but I am loving the Nerija album.

The Somerset House gig was astonishing, they had the Boris Johnson 'flag-waving picaninnies' quote up onstage for the whole thing, the whole thing just seemed to rise and rise in intensity including an astonishing middle section with a succession of MCs over the top. Including D Double E, which as well as being awesome was also kind of heartwarming, the sense of a circle being closed, making explicit what had been apparent since the start.

Sons of Kemet played Brooklyn on Tuesday night with Irreversible Entanglements (Moor Mother fronting an Ayler-esque quartet). I wanted to go but couldn't.

Perhaps beyond the official remit of this thread but I am loving the Nerija album.

https://boomkat.com/products/abstractions-of-reality-past-and-incredible-feathers

will be looking out for this one

Hell yes.

Also from gearbox records some new Abdullah Ibrahim that I was previously unaware of.

The Comet Is Coming put out a six-track EP this week, The Afterlife. Listening to it now on Spotify. It's basically in the spirit of the last album, with one track featuring vocals by poet Joshua Idehen.

I'd forgotten about Joshua Idehen, who I really liked on the LV album Routes from about 2013 or something.

it took me a while to get around to that Binker Golding album Abstractions of reality past.. it's an ace album, when ilx poster Jordan said most modern jazz albums sound like shit these days, this is another one that bucks that trend by sounding very nice!

https://matthewhalsall.bandcamp.com/album/oneness

new M Halsall sounds pretty chill

I know Shabaka's not in the band anymore but the new Melt Yourself Down single ("Crocodile") smokes. Album's out in March.

oh hell yeah this track sounds great!

looks like there's a new shabaka and the ancestors out today too - "The Coming of the Strange Ones"

The new Ancestors album is out next month. It's really good. I'm hoping to see them in NYC in March too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg-0rBD38Lc

new album sounds ace from reviews/previews. It drops in a fortnight.

Musically the album is a fast-forward spin going on futuristic reinvention of the South African township jazz pioneered by artists such as Hugh Masekela, Chris McGregor and Dudu Pukwana in the mid 20th century.

u loves to hear it!

Dudu Pukwana’s Bayoli from
in the townships has to be in my top 10 all time favourite tunes so I’m excited about that comparison.

sick album is that!

Hugh Masekela's I Am Not Afraid is another personal fave and McGregor/Brotherhood of Breath are unfuckwithable.

Oh man, just even name-checking the Blue Notes crew has me stoked.

So this is pretty great.

Does have some of the freeness of the Blue Notes, but very much its own thing.

Nice NYT write-up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/arts/music/shabaka-and-the-ancestors.html

been getting really into this scene the past few months. SoK's last record seems particularly otm right now.

The new Gary Bartz/Maisha collab LP has particularly grabbed me.

Shirley Tetteh, Maisha's guitarist is so so good.

She gradually takes over the second half of “The Stank” with a very cool solo, having ticked away in the background during the first half. Such a funky track.

She also plays on recent SEED ensemble and Yazz Ahmed albums.

I interviewed her last year for Bandcamp.

(I just ordered physical copies of the Nérija, Maisha, and Seed Ensemble albums this morning, too.)

She’s great on the Nerija album, isn’t she - there’s a standout solo on “Equanimous”, for instance. I’m gonna revisit the Yazz Ahmed later today.

Ok so this guy's music is amazing

Thanks for the tip on that Nerija album. I just got it on vinyl and it kills, EU especially.

Soul Jazz Records is putting out a 2CD/3LP compilation of new UK jazz called Kaleidoscope - New Spirits Known & Unknown on July 17.

Soul Jazz Records’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.

As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists’ approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices - and most of these artists’ recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists has up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond).

‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ shows that while there is commonality in these artists approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles – from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.

Soul Jazz Records’ new release comes as a superb one-off pressing special deluxe triple album edition which comes with a bonus limited-edition one-off pressing 7" single, a standard triple album, and a deluxe double CD pack. This album also comes with extensive sleevenotes, artist interviews and exclusive photography.

Track listing:

Tracklisting
1. Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra – When The World Was One
2. Yazmin Lacey – 90 Degrees
3. Hector Plimmer – Communication Control
4. Ill Considered – Long Way Home (Live At The Crypt)
5. The Expansions – Mosaic
6. Chip Wickham – Red Planet
7. Levitation Orchestra – Odyssey
8. Emma-Jean Thackray – Walrus
9. Tenderlonious and The 22archestra – The Shakedown
10. Pokus – Pokus One
11. Theon Cross – Candace Of Meroe
12. Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin – Tanner's Tango
13. Collocutor – Gozo
14. Makaya McCraven – Untitled
15. Nat Birchall – Ancient World
16. Ruby Rushton – Moonlight Woman
17. Ebi Soda – Dimmsdale
18. The Cromagnon Band – Thunder Perfect
19. SEED Ensemble – Mirrors
20. Ishmael Ensemble – Kito's Theme
21. Vels Trio – Yellow Ochre (Part 1)

that looks great - excited to hear it

Weird that Lunch Money Life isn't on there-- I really like their newest record

The newest side project/collaborative release from Danalogue is pretty sharp:

https://danalogue.bandcamp.com/album/i-was-not-sleeping

Sounds pretty great, thanks Ned.

yeah, digging this

New one is real nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZUbNXhnSm4

He was part of the Pop Conference today ( but I missed it)

that new track hits the spot

that album is going to kill!

Yeah this is excellent. To see these guys at a place like SOB's would be so amazing.

I only scratched the surface of Sons of Kermet and the rest of this scene up till now, but I love both the recent singles a lot.

it's finally here! 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

this is an amazing ear enema following listening to st vincent. going to be playing it a lot this year.

lol first time I've seen enema deployed as a positive metaphor

hahaha this is more like an ear candle anyway, fire emojis otm

I've had to put on some quite dry and tediously enthralling neo-classical chamber jazz improv to calm myself down after all the excitement of blasting this one out earlier. Probably more like an ear enema!

lol we're 2/3 of the way to a terrible thread idea here