You’re looking at three albums this week, instead of two. The Leyla McCalla and Matthew Shipp albums were obvious choices for me, but Hannah Jadagu has kept me curious about what’s next for her …
Breaking the Thermometer
Leyla McCalla
2022
Anti Records
I’m drawn to the deep-dish Americana Folk, enriched by three distinct ingredients that redefine the genre’s blend: the now-familiar musical flavoring of McCalla’s Haitian ancestry, her unwritten-book years in Haiti, and her latter-day travels — via the annals of Radio Haiti — of the Haitian people’s unbreakable will, pre- and post-Papa Doc. It’s not hard to extrapolate the artist’s broader messages of expressive freedom across many lands. McCalla’s cello, plucked and bowed, along with the addictive Funk — surprising for first-time visitors to McCalla’s solo world — stamps as strong a cultural declaration as the artist’s ten-year-old self identifying with being Haitian after a visit to the motherland. She pleasantly prodded my spirits and I instantly got the artistic and historical connection of her Caetano Veloso cover, “You Don’t Know Me”, in the style of early 1970s Tropicália. I think McCalla’s years with the Carolina Chocolate Drops have also prepared her well for this defining moment. The good news is that I read elsewhere about hints of musical gold like this in McCalla’s pipeline. Here for it.
Prism
Matthew Shipp Trio
1996
Brinkman Records
This album nearly escaped my grasp, save for a recent email I received about the 1993 live recording’s availability. Calling Matthew Shipp’s playing “thunderous” is arguably lazy — or at least an understatement — since seeing and creating in a world of just thunder can be challenging. But I get the poetic point. I consider Shipp’s playing effulgent in the way he frenetically connects new dots for my ears, and from almost any direction. Teaming up with bassist William Parker and drummer Whit Dickey makes for the kind of kickazz Jazz set where Shipp’s constant low-end phrasing still provides plenty of breathing room for other focused expression. The album has two long, wild and lovely tracks where the second, “Prism II”, shows a few more stylistic changes than “Prism I”. Strap in for a listen, if Free Jazz is your thing.
Aperture
Hannah Jadagu
2023
Sub Pop Records
Sonic postcards that trace a life journey from complex Texas religiosity to NYC — and still evolving. Go back and listen to Aunty’s records if you can’t find the 90s and 00s R&B harmonic stem here. Tunes like “Six Months” caught me listening to Beck’s Beatles influence; the puréed psychedelic infusion makes Jagadu — and this Indie Pop album — interesting to hear. At 19 years young, I reckon her story arc is set to go farther and higher …
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