Shabaka & The Ancestors
Imulse!, 2020, CD
Instrument: Saxophone
Issue: 26.2
Jazz Ruler Type: Pop+Jazz
Performance: 4
Sound: 3
Score: 76
O’s Notes: Barbadian songwriter, bandleader Shabaka Hutchings (t-sax, cl) chronicles a journey including colonialism and African diaspora. It was released at the dawn of the global pandemic and has immediate relevance. The Ancestors are his band of South African musicians. They describe the pain of history in music and lyrics, suggesting that there must be some suffering before with rebuild and recreate with unity. Shabaka successfully weaves his message into a rootsy, percussion-laden musical landscape that fuels passion and hopefully can motivate positive change.
Publicist: Crossover Media
