Visionary and Composer Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah Again Transcends Jazz and Genres with ‘Ancestral Recall’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, called by some “The architect of a new commercially viable fusion” and “Jazz’s young style God,” continues to forge new ground. Each time the New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist releases an album, there are elements that link them together, but mostly, they are distinctly different. Fresh off the third part of his Centennial Trilogy, his 2017 The Emancipation Procrastination that was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at this past GRAMMY Awards, Ancestral Recall continues Adjuah’s mission to unify people via their musical and cultural voices by tearing down the sonic and social constructs that separate them, based on race, class, and culture. To say he is a visionary is a vast understatement.

Adjuah maintains that music has historically been disseminated to people with harmony and melody prioritizes over rhythm. In other words, cultures who prioritize harmony and melody are more sophisticated than those who prioritize rhythm. He feels that is inaccurate and it becomes his major platform on this outing – highlighting the har-melodic movements found within rhythm to render preconceived notions useless. It’s his ambitious effort to connect, rather than divide people. He explains, “In its inception, Ancestral Recall was built as a map to de-colonialize sound, to challenge previously held misconceptions about some cultures of music, to codify a new folkloric tradition and begin the work of creating a national set of rhythms; rhythms rooted in the synergy between West African, First Nation, African Diaspora/Caribbean rhythms and their marriage to rhythmic templates found in trap music, alt-rock, and other modern forms. It is time we created a sound that dispels singular narratives of entire peoples and looks to finally represent the wealth of narratives found throughout the American experience. One that shows that all forms expression in sound are valid, as all people are.”

Collaborators include Elena Pinderhughes (flute), Weedie Braimah (percussion), Logan Richardson (alto sax), Saul Williams (vocals), Mike Larry Draw (vocals), Chris Turner (vocals), and others, fourteen in total in the credits.  Scott had co-writing help on five of the twelve compositions. Adjuah, whose main instrument is Trumpet/flugelhorn, also plays a variety of percussion instruments, keys, synths, vocals and, importantly, sonic architecture.

The hope, of course, is that this marks a shift in musical and social understanding; that it’s revolutionary. It might be okay if it’s not fully understood.  People are still trying to figure out Miles, Trane, and Sun Ra, even now. As a newly ascended Chieftain in the Black masking culture of New Orleans, Adjuah has been deeply committed to turning identity politics, as it is used in music, on its ear. The opening track, “Her Arrival,” is full of polyrhythms from an array of instruments, tribal voices and a vocal from Devan Mayfield, as Pinderhughes’ flute and Adjuah’s trumpet carry the melody that soars above the fray. The next two tracks: “I Own the Night” and “The Shared Stories of Rivals” feature spoken word and vocals from Saul Williams, who is also the co-writer.

All these tracks are infused with percussion and amazing richly textured rhythmic patterns as you’ve already gleaned. Throughout, as on his other albums, Adjuah’s trumpet tone is clear and majestic sounding but it’s as if it resides on a higher plane above the rhythms and mix of acoustic and electronics taking place below. Together, the music remains unique, unlike almost anything else you’ve heard, unless it was from Adjuah or his label mate, Logan Richardson, who is featured on “Songs She Never Heard.” Other featured musicians are Pinderhughes on “Before,” vocalists Chris Turner and Mike Larry Draw on “Forevergirl, “Mayfield again on “Diviner” and Williams again on the closing title track.

Close your eyes and imagine a New Orleans multi-cultural street parade 50 or 60 years from now – pulsating rhythms, chants, and soaring horns that shift seamlessly from acoustic to electronic modes. There’s just so much to feast the ears on, that it takes multiple listens to begin to digest it. All forms of expression in sound are valid, according to Adjuah. You’ll hear more than you can possibly count, many you’ve never heard before, especially when considering the amalgam of all.

 

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