I would have checked this out simply because it's on International Anthem, really. But this new Irreversible Entanglements album is also being co-released with Don Giovanni Records and that's another reason to be interested. Who Sent You? also features Camae Ayewa (AKA Moor Mother) and D.C.'s own Luke Stewart on bass so there's two other reasons to get interested in this.
Those players, along with saxophonist Keir Neuringer, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, and drummer Tcheser Holmes work up a frenzy here on this album, and Who Sent You? reminds a listener exactly how jazz can transform a listener's mind, and rejuvenate a listener's spirit. Opener "The Code Noir / Amina" sees the material clash and swirl around the main spoken word passages here, with Luke's bass the anchor. If things sound like they are going to derail, it's a wicked feeling as this one lurches precipitously towards chaos at a few moments. "Who Sent You / Ritual" is epic, free jazz for a new world, for a coming generation who've surmounted the hurdles of the here-and-now, ones political and class structured, with the lyrics of the final stretch of this one pointing us towards some transcendence. Elsewhere, "Blues Ideology" sees the horns swing like something from a late Sixties Mingus side, even as Stewart's bass bounces when it needs to bounce, and holds things down when it needs to hold things down. This is my favorite cut on the record. Who Sent You? closes with the more subdued "Bread Out of Stone", a number with a dream-like quality. The lyrics here compete with drummer Holmes' expert work on the kit, the playing here the refined cousin of the earlier fiery runs.
The players in Irreversible Entanglements are in such command here that one is sort of surprised at how amazing jazz can still be when done this right. This record is, like nearly anything on International Anthem, a release which attempts to be more than just another product. And, like nearly anything on that label, the album succeeds in lighting a fire in a listener's heart. Who Sent You? opens and progresses with a kind of clanging and clattering righteous fury, and a listener instantly feels a part of what's happening within the grooves of the record. And the message within the music is expertly presented, such that both the intentions and the instrumental prowess on display here share equal time, with the overall punch of the music being one of extraordinary force.
Who Sent You? is out on Friday via International Anthem and Don Giovanni Records.
More details on Irreversible Entanglements via the band's Facebook page, or the group's official website.
[Photo: Bob Sweeney]