This one crept past a lot
of people when it was released back in September, but, in this house, it hit
home straight away and quickly turned into my top pick of the pops for 2024.
It makes its first impressions early on with a broad flowing strings overture through which esperanza spalding’s vocals and then Casimir’s bass rise up; Armon-Jones throws in some complex piano and Jones’ drums rattle along behind. We’re hooked and Garcia hasn’t yet lifted her sax out of its case. A stop for the strings to take us out sees Garcia raise her voice amongst them.
This depth and intricacy
characterise the album which shows, as with Cassie Kinoshi’s recent gratitude, a musician at the top of her
game as both a player and an arranger. Whilst Garcia creates settings for her
playing this is not a leader and band album but the creation of a panoramic all-of-a-piece
soundscape through which the different instruments rise to the lead role.
It helps, of course, if
you can put together a first rate team, as Garcia has here. Armon-Jones has
space and time to develop his voice on the piano more than he has in Ezra Collective,
Garcia’s playing is consistently lovely, bold and full voice at times,
vulnerable and very human at others; Casimir is under and around everything and
Jones pokes, prods and drives it all along. The strings of the Chineke!
Orchestra hold everything together. In my ever so humble opinion this is a
magnificent piece of work. Great cover too. Dave
Sayer
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