WE OUT HERE (2LP)

TRACKLISTING: LP A.1 Maisha - Inside The Acorn A.2 Ezra Collective - Pure Shade B.1 Moses Boyd - The Balance B.2 Theon Cross - Brockley C1. Nubya Garcia - Once C2. Shabaka Hutchings - Black Skin, Black Masks C3. Triforce - Walls D1. Joe Armon-Jones - Go See D2. Kokoroko - Abusey Junction PUBLIC LINK TO SHARE: http://www.weouthere.london/ OVERVIEW: A primer on London™s bright-burning young jazz scene, this new compilation brings together a collection of some of its sharpest talents. A set of nine newly-recorded tracks, We Out Here captures a moment where genre markers matter less than raw, focused energy. Looking at the album™s running order, it could easily serve as a name-checking exercise for some of London™s most-tipped and hardworking bands of the past couple of years. Recorded across three long, fruitful days in a North West London studio, the crossover between each of the groups speaks to the close-knit circles which make up the scene. Surveying the way that London™s jazz-influenced music had spread outside of its usual spaces in recent years, this album bottles up some of the vital ideas emanating from that burgeoning movement. Giving a platform to a scene where mutual cooperation and a DIY spirit are second-nature, it™s a window into the wide-eyed future of London™s musical underground. Ubiquitous, much-lauded saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings is the project™s musical director. His own recent projects span from South Africa-connected, spiritually-minded jazz players Shabaka and the Ancestors to Sons of Kemet, who match diasporically-connected compositions with viscerally-direct live shows. His entry on the album, ˜Black Skin, Black Masks™, is typically difficult-to-define: with an off-kilter, shifting rhythmic backbone, repeated phrases  mirrored between clarinet and bass clarinet  shape the track with an alluring hue. His input ties together a deft, genre-agnostic sensibility that™s shared through all the players on the record. Theon Cross  who™s also part of Sons of Kemet with Hutchings  starts his track, ˜Brockley™, with the solo, distinctive low rumble of his tuba. Winding and mesmeric, it sees tuba and sax lines winding together in rhythmic and melodic parallels. Ezra Collective  whose drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso has toured with Pharaohe Monch  run a tight, Afrobeat-tipped rhythm on ˜Pure Shade™, with the final third changing gear into a melodic, momentous closing stretch. Joe Armon-Jones, whose ludicrous chops on the piano have seen him touring with the likes of Ata Kak, showcases earworm-like, insistent motifs on ˜Go See™, balanced with a playful, improvisatory approach with room for ad-libbing and solos a-plenty. Taking a softer tact than many of the other entries, Kokoroko  whose guitarist Oscar Jerome has been making waves with his solo material  spin a lyrical, steady-paced meditation on ˜Abusey Junction™, matching chanted vocals with gently-played guitar. Nodding to spiritual jazz influences, Maisha™s ˜Inside The Acorn™ is a wandering, explorative rumination, balancing delicate washes of piano and percussion with sharp interplay between flute and bass clarinet. In contrast, Nubya Garcia™s ˜Once™ is taut and carefully-poised, her tenor sax guiding a carefully-built energy to an explosive conclusion. And finally, Triforce™s ˜Walls™ is a performance in two parts: starting with Mansur Brown™s languorous, lyrical guitar, the second half switches up to a low-slung, g-funk-tipped groove. OTHER ACTIVITY: https://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/brownswood-recordings/