At times on Ancestral Recall (Ropeadope Records/Stretch Music), trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s playing is so full of meaning that you can almost make out the intended words. He’ll repeat simple melodic phrases like a mantram over a rhythmic device culled from the African diaspora, then rise out of this polyrhythmic loam on a flying blast of sound. The view from above must be stunning.
Adjuah’s vision of an all-inclusive humanity finds expression on this new record, a quick follow-up to last year’s Grammy-nominated Emancipation Procrastination (Ropeadope Records/Stretch Music), which concluded his celebrated triumvirate of 2017 albums, released collectively as The Centennial Trilogy. Divisions, musical or otherwise, stem from misconceptions, he writes in the liner notes: “It is time we created a sound that dispels the singular narratives of entire peoples and looks to finally represent the wealth of narratives found throughout the American experience.”
In creating such a sound, Adjuah works with an atypical admixture of aural elements. Synth percussion, bebop trumpet, pan African drums, a lion roaring, and slam poetry by the phenomenal Saul Williams on “The Shared Stories of Rivals [KEITA].” Birds twittering, legato flute lines, electronic drums, and exultant horn riffs on “Before.” Traditional jazz bass and drums, beseeching pop vocals, and hard-hitting rap on “Forevergirl.” His point is well-made.
It helps that Adjuah is something of a musical polyglot, fluent in all of these sonic languages. This fluency is no surprise to those familiar with Adjuah’s fusion-centered artistry. But the big reveal with this album is just how adept he is with vocals—in contrast with his previous releases, he uses singing, chant, or spoken word on just about every track. A brilliant next step.
Personnel: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, trumpet, Adjuah trumpet, siren, sirenette, reverse flugelhorn, percussion, synth percussion, SPDSX, malletkat, MPC, keyboards, synth bass, pan African kit, drums, vocals, sonic arictexture; Saul Williams, vocals (2, 3, 12); Elena Pinderhughes, flute (1, 5, 10); Logan Richardson, alto (7); Weedie Braimath, percussion, vocals (1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, 12); Corey Fonville, drums, SPDSX, pan African kit (2, 3, 4, 7, 12); Laurence Fields, piano (7, 12); Kris Funn, bass (4, 7); Devan Mayfield, vocals (1); Chris Turner, vocals (4); Mike Larry Draw, vocals (4); Themba Mkhatshwa, percussion (1, 2); Amadou Kouyate, percussion (1, 2); Munir Zakee Richard, percussion (1, 2).
Tracks: Her Arrival; I Own The Night; The Shared Stories Of Rivals; Forevergirl; Diviner; Overcomer; Songs She Never Heard; Ritual; Prophesy; Before; Double Consciousness; Ancestral Recall.
(Reprinted from June 2019 issue of Downbeat magazine.)