Saxophonist
Shabaka Hutchings
has been ubiquitous on the U.K.'s jazz and electronic scenes over the past half-decade with
Sons of Kemet
,
Heliocentrics
, and other bands. Earlier in 2016, he was nominated for a Mercury Prize -- as part of
the Comet Is Coming
-- for their debut full-length
Channel the Spirits
. He was a core member for percussionist
Sarathy Korwar
's Indo-jazz fusion offering
Day to Day
.
Wisdom of Elders
rounds out
Hutchings
' portrait as a composer and bandleader. This date features the leader in the company of seven musicians from South Africa, performing his "psalm in nine parts." Recorded in a single day in a Johannesburg studio, this exercise in Afro-Futurism (
' term) is rooted in traditions: Afro-Caribbean folk and calypso,
Sun Ra
's space-age blues,
John Coltrane
's spiritual modalism,
Miles Davis
' spectral
In a Silent Way
, and of course, South African jazz tradition that came of age with the individual members of the
Blue Notes
and
Abdullah Ibrahim
.
"Mzwandile" commences with a trance-inducing ostinato by bassist
Ariel Zomonsky
followed by rhythms and counter rhythms from percussionist
Gontse Makhene
and drummer
Tumi Morogosi
(on tenor), alto saxman
Mthunzi Mvubu
, and trumpeter
Mandla Mlangeni
offer the melody, which is underscored and appended by vocalist
Siyabonga Mthembu
's lyrics and
Nduduzo Makhatini
's Rhodes piano. The tenorist takes an outside solo, ratcheting up the intensity over nearly 13 minutes. "The Observer" adds an element of bluesy, gospelized soul as
delivers the languid melody adorned by shimmering cymbals, acoustic piano, bowed bass, and skeletal trumpet. When
Mthembu
begins singing, it feels like a cross between "(Sometimes I Feel) Like a Motherless Child" and a slow "Wade in the Water." The singer and alto saxophonist entwine as the other horns extrapolate and the rhythm section picks up the tempo.
Zamonsky
's bassline holds down a nearly funky groove. "The Sea" is the set's longest cut at nearly 12 minutes. The criss-crossing dialogue between Afro-Caribbean percussion, popping progressive post-bop, and dramatic outward exploration features
Mlangeni
's trumpet break nearly stealing the show. "Give Thanks" is nearly a sprint as
Mogorosi
, and
Makhene
engage in fierce conversation that borders on
Coltrane
's "Interstellar Space" but offers circular rhythms and the trace of a (calypso) melody to return to. Closer "Nguni" is a minimal melodic statement -- offered by
-- graced by rolling tom-toms and hand percussion as the other horns and bass join in minimal embellishment. A Rhodes piano enters with a spectral harmonic statement but the main melody, like a responsorial chant, repeats throughout. Soloists come and go, but the lyrical comfort anchors the listener inside a deep well of emotion as blues and post-bop carve their initials in it.
is a major statement.
and band know how to bridge eras, musics, and musings on musical evolution. This album doesn't recast the past but celebrates it, as a building block in the bandleader's pursuit of 21st century spiritual Afro-Futurism as he defines it going forward. ~ Thom Jurek