Dezron Douglas Brandee Younger
Force Majeure

Bridging the spaces between the Paris and Chicago scenes, Moving Cities brings together the best of both worlds. Initiated by French trumpet player Antoine Berjeaut and Chicago-based drummer/producer Makaya McCraven (along with a cast including bassist Junius Paul and saxophonist Julien Lourau), Moving Cities is emblematic of a new, utterly modern jazz going through a true aesthetic revolution. Moving Cities started as a live laboratory set up by Berjeaut and McCraven; it echoes the recent evolution of international metropolises constantly torn between individualism and collective endeavors, in a disrupted geography.

The Jahari Massamba Unit features Madlib on all instrumentation with the exception of drums, which are laid down by Karriem Riggins. Like Madlib, Riggins is well-versed in both the Jazz and Hip Hop worlds. Musically, Madlib’s label says: “we would call the project Spiritual Jazz, but jazz great Phil Ranelin told us to call it Black Classical Music, so that’s what we’re going with.” This is an album put together by students of jazz in its myriad and historic forms who are also proponents of jazz’s future. The resulting recording reflects a lifetime of record collecting, musical study, woodshedding, and a reverential respect for one another’s craft. Regardless of categorization, this is an exciting and all-new entry in Madlib’s Yesterday’s New Quintet canon of difficult to categorize music.

Third all-solo outing from Nat Birchall. This time Nat pays homage to the patron saint of the tenor saxophone, John Coltrane. With a balanced programme of original songs and John Coltrane compositions the album focusses on the more Afrocentric aspects of the music.released May 27, 2022Nat Birchall - Tenor & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, zurna, piano, Korg Minilogue, harmonium, bass, drums, hand drums, mbira, percussion.