George Otsuka Quintet
Loving You George

1. Watermelancholia2. O.P.K.3. Sorcery Of Terminology4. Querencia5. Accessibility of SoulDevin Brahja Waldman is a New York saxophonist, drummer, synthesizer player and composer who leads the group BRAHJA. Waldman has accompanied his aunt, poet Anne Waldman, since the age of ten. Waldman is a co-founding member of Radical Reversal, Diva of Deva Loka, and Notable Deaths. He has performed with Patti Smith, William Parker, Nadah El Shazly, Malcolm Mooney, Thurston Moore, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Charles Hayward, Luke Stewart and Yoshiko Chuma. Waldman is also a member of NYC’s Heroes Are Gang Leaders (led by poet Thomas Sayers Ellis and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis), of Sam Shalabi’s Land of Kush, and of the Norwegian hardcore group MoE. As a youngster, Waldman was taken under the wing of avant-garde giant Paul Bley. Along with Anne Waldman and cousin Ambrose Bye, Waldman is a co-producer for Fast Speaking Music - a NYC poetry and music label which has released recordings with Amiri Baraka, Meredith Monk, William Parker, Laurie Anderson, Eileen Myles, CAConrad, Fred Moten, Daniel Carter, Clark Coolidge, Thurston Moore, Joanne Kyger and many others.Ancient to the future 2.0Watermelancholia is about the law of Karma:a law so obvious that it often goes unspecified and ignored.Neglecting this law invites a world of chaos.It’s been articulated in endless ways.Some have called it Cosmic Law or Natural Law.Others translate it as Do No Harm.(liner notes excerpt)The moment the first bass note of Luke Stewart kicks in on ‘Watermelancholia’, followed by the swelling drum roll of Malick Koly and the lush leading voice of Janice Lowe you feel Devin Brahja will take you on a deep mind blowing spiritual journey.Channeling wild seventies Impulse vibes on ‘O.P.K’ or, could we say, even resonating the guts of early Art Ensemble of Chicago and the tempering spirit of Max Roach’s ‘We Insist’ era: BRAHJA is soul searching their spirit on ‘Watermelancholia.A poetic stream of conciousness, backboned by topnotch musicians, transcending the cosmic universe, trying to find answers and musically connecting.Watermelancholia is a meditation on healing the inner schism between the sense of self - the ego - and the innerbeing. It is about bringing the ego tojustice; putting it on trial, as it were. (liner notes excerpt) releases December 2, 2022Devin B Waldman: compositions, mixing and production, alto saxophone, Jupiter-4 keyboard on songs 1, 2, and 4, piano on 3, drums on 4James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone on songs 1, 2, 4 and 5Janice Lowe: voice and flute on songs 1, 2 and 3Watson: bass clarinet on allHeru Shabaka-Ra: trumpet on songs 1, 2 and 4Damon Hankoff: piano on songs 1, 2, 3 and 4Alexis Marcelo: piano on song 5Luke Stewart: acoustic bass on songs 1, 2, 3 and 5Malick Koly: drums on songs 1, 2, 3 and 5

Following on from his recent string of exceptional all-solo albums, Mysticism of Sound, Ancient Africa and Afro Trane, Nat Birchall releases his first new studio recording, Spiritual Progressions, with his current working group, Unity Ensemble. This group consists of long time musical partner Adam Fairhall on piano, plus the bassist in Nat’s group for several years and albums, Michael Bardon, and a welcome return on drums by Paul Hession who recorded on the legendary Live In Larissa double album. Rounding out the five-piece ensemble is percussionist Lascelle Gordon, a mainstay of the London music scene for many years.Nat says he chose the name for the group because “This particular group of musicians has a very unified sound, each player has a very individual sound and concept but they all come together in this group and blend incredibly well. Making music with this band is pure joy.”The album features four tracks, all composed by Nat, which beautifully illustrate Nat’s comments.The first track, Unity, speaks for itself and the cohesion of the group sound, each instrument adding to the overall vibe with no hint of grandstanding or musical one-upmanship.Lokumbe is named for the legendary trumpeter and composer/bandleader, Hannibal Lokumbe, formerly known as Marvin Peterson, who is one of Nat’s musical heroes, keeping the flame of soulful, spiritual and far-reaching music alive for many decades and still going strong.Nile Valley is so titled because, as Nat explains “This song made me think of an ancient Egyptian Royal barge moving along the river Nile, in a slow and stately fashion.” The unhurried pace of the song and genuinely colourful sounds from all the instruments really bring this image to life in the mind of the listener.The final track, Sun in the East, is about “new beginnings, figuratively speaking, like the sunrise in the East every morning, each day bringing a fresh opportunity to renew our resolve to progress in different ways, or even to start again from scratch. It’s never too late to make a change or to begin a journey.”The album was recorded live in the studio in Manchester, then Nat overdubbed some percussion and other instruments, mbira, balaphon, wood flutes etc, to add some extra textures to the musical canvas. As Nat says “Music and painting have many things in common, and I tend to think in terms of musical colours and textures when composing or arranging songs. As with a painting, balance is very important when making music, and this group is the most beautifully balanced group I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”Nat Birchall Unity Ensemble – Spiritual Progressions (Ancient Archive of Sound AAOS 221)140g black vinyl LP pressed in the UK at Vinyl Factory released August 26, 2022Nat Birchall - tenor saxophone, wood flutes, singing bowls, mbira, balaphon, gunibri, percussion. Adam Fairhall - piano. Michael Bardon - bass. Paul Hession - drums. Lascelle Gordon - percussion, hand drums.

What were they up to? Nobody could tell—not even them. Bremer/McCoy recorded straight to tape so that they had as little time as possible to think about it. They just laid it down. They couldn’t really explain it.“When it works for me,” says pianist Morten McCoy, “it’s pure meditation, pure prayer. Pure gratitude for simply being, without all kinds of jibber-jabber filling my thoughts.” A sentiment that tells you everything about the feeling and nothing about the sound.McCoy and the bassist Jonathan Bremer started making music together back in 2012 when they were still in school. At first the Danish duo played dub. It’s hard to imagine that that’s how they started when you listen to the ethereal sounds they make now, but the influence becomes clearer when you see them live: they insist on traveling with their own sound system.For Bremer/McCoy, making music is all about what happens in the room. That’s why they go through the trouble of carrying their own equipment, and it’s why they record analog. When they write music, they aim for direct transmission—idea straight to composition.Natten, which means “The Night” in Danish, draws inspiration from the end of day, that regenerative time under the constellations when our lives look different. “We felt a greater freedom this time around because we now have a much deeper understanding and grounding in what we’re doing,” says Bremer. “This allows us to venture further out than ever before, because we know that things typically fall into place.”