Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire’s imagination and vision transcends any concept of boundaries and structures. He seems almost ego-less. Some of his pieces have very little trumpet, almost like the basketball point guard that savors assists more than points. The end goal and vision are most important.
The music is compelling, abstract, discordant, gorgeous, and spans a full spectrum of accessible to what-the-heck-is-going-on, which is why it is so compelling. Again, with his through-composed music, he taps into chamber music, hip-hop, jazz, and spoken word. There are numerous jazz offerings with string quartets, and many blend hip-hop with jazz, but few embrace these three distinct schools. Kamasi Washington has dabbled in it, but only Akinmusire has made it work for an entire album. Now, it’s for the second time, tapping into a singer-songwriter vibe and touches of avant-garde vibe. And remarkably, each school stands confidently and independently yet fits into the whole. Returning is the Mivos Quartet and pianist Sam Harris, with new additions Chiquitamagic on synthesizer (with amazing synth-bass tones), Justin Brown on drums, and the improvisational vocalist/rapper Kokayi, who often creates his lyrics in the moment.
Akinmusire considers the album a ‘self-portrait’, and like his previous works, addresses the fears and struggles he and fellow Black men face. The work is also an homage to the work of the late composer Julius Eastman and his organic music concept and, to some extent, Steve Reich’s minimalism. He will also say he is all about tension and release. These cycles are ever-present. One doesn’t often associate chamber music with high energy but the pulse here is palpable from the outset. The opener, “muffled screams,” relates to a near-death experience that he survived to protect his son. Soon amplified by the string quartet, the leader’s somber trumpet provides the solemn intro for Kokayi’s dramatic lyrics, syncing with the rhythm and pianist Harris’s chords. Kodayi is an instrument of his own, as he is throughout the album. The 15-minute piece has distinct sections, with an ethereal string section melding with Brown’s hip-hop beats and more vocalizing from Kokayi, expressing anger and crying out for the community, which is too often silenced.
The titles often succinctly convey his purpose such as “Bloomed,” the second piece, steered mostly by haunting lines from the string quartet and a fiercely agitated trumpet. The latter half builds momentum and then just fades. Brown’s polyrhythmic beats initiate “MYanx,” addressing Black anxiety and mental health, a feature for Kokayi, exhibiting a masterful sense of rhythm as the entire ensemble cooks behind him, Brown laying down a hip-hop groove. At the same time, the strings go pizzicato, symbolizing that strife and anxiety. As he often does, the discordant meshes with beautiful textures, for a beguiling, unpredictable listen. The classically imbued “Owled” begins as a reflective piece with the string quartet and piano before morphing into engaging, brash hip-hop with Kokayi and Brown. Akinmusire’s fluttering trumpet doesn’t appear until the nine-and-half minute mark in this almost 13-minute piece, sounding like an anguished cry in the night.
“Kinfolks” runs for almost thirty mind-bending and riveting minutes, typified by this quote from Akinmusire – “…knowing when to push and when to lay back – is the highest form of intellect. And it;’s the form that’s often more valued in the Black community. It goes beyond language.” Every facet of searing trumpet playing and compositional craft is here. Chamber music yields to hip-hop which surrenders to jazz (Harris is terrific) and back and forth through several sections of tension and release that somehow slithers into the ether, leaving us wanting even more. There’s just nothing like this out there unless you retreat back six years to Origami Harvest. Akinmusire has again delivered a fascinating and oddly irresistible project.