First Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, then Gordon Beck's Gyroscope... and today another one! Am I developing a preference for British Jazz reissues lately? Maybe a little, maybe it's just sheer coincidence. And of course Yazz Ahmed covers a whole different generation than those other two from the 1970' and 80's.
However, it just seemed fitting to write this review today, as Yazz Ahmed has just announced the release of her next album "A Paradise In the Hold" for February 2025.
However, it just seemed fitting to write this review today, as Yazz Ahmed has just announced the release of her next album "A Paradise In the Hold" for February 2025.
YAZZ AHMED - Finding My Way Home (blue vinyl LP) (2011/2024)
Even though the main inspiration for picking up her instrument has been her grandfather, who was a professional trumpeteer and record producer, it's of course impossible for any Jazz musician to choose this instrument and deny the towering influence of Miles Davis.
And it's the shortest track - just one and a half minutes - on this first-time vinyl pressing of Yazz Ahmed's debut album, which gives us an unmistakable clue, where she started - and where she is going. "The Birth Of The Fool" is of course a play on Miles' Cool Jazz phase, way before he went Electric, and when the main attribute which set him apart from other contemporary players was his focus on long notes and emotion instead of boasting with technique and speed.
Musically however this track features one of the the clearest uses of Arabic rhythms and scales, indicating the beginning of Ahmed's impressive journey of self-discovery between the British (obviously American-influenced) and Bahraini side of her identity. And you already can feel it here: The more she leans away from the Western tones, the more elevated and magical her performance gets.
Besides her brass playing she also already introduces her fondness for little electronic tidbits and creative production tricks, but that only appears in rather subtle form here, waiting to be explored much further in the future.
All in all the whole album feels as if she embraced the smooth early bandleader days of Davis, yet stirred the ship towards the musical legacy of the Near East. Half of the tracks are her own compositions with a full band in different constellations, in which of course not only her own trumpet and flugelhorn parts shine, but it's useless to name everything which impresseses here. The whole rhythmic approach is so satisfying, and there are wonderful contribuitions by Shabaka Hutchings on clarinets, John Bailey on piano or the inclusion of Corrina Silvester's hand drumming or the flavour of Chris Fish's cello and so on...
However if I had to choose one most important player besides Yazz it surely would be bass guitarist Janek Gwizdala, who doesn't appear on the band tracks, but on various stunning duet improvisations, including the ten minute title track of the album - plus their version of "Birthdays, Birthdays", a composition by saxophonist Stan Sulzmann (who by the way also performed on the Gyroscope compilation I reviewed the other day).
On the original CD release they also interpreted Miles Davis' "So What" from "Kind of Blue", but just like the original Ahmed song "Flip Flop" that track didn't fit on this vinyl re-release, which also changed the running order of the remaining tracks a little. I actually prefer the overall flow of this shorter version, yet still recommend buying it from a source (like Bandcamp), which also provides you with a digital copy of all ten tracks.
If you're familiar with her later albums it's a pretty large elephant in the room that the original cover of "Finding My Way Home" may be a nice photograph, but not really up to the standards of the amazing artworks which followed.
Her new label Night Time Stories - who also reissued the later masterpieces "La Saboteuse" and "Polyhymnia" - has done a nice job of jazzing it up, with a couple of neat often tried and tested tricks from the school of Jazz iconography: Fill half the frame with typography - huge name, even bigger album title, add some liner note stuff, so the corner doesn't look too dark, and most importantly screw those tourist snapshot colours, keep it monochrome and drench the whole image in the jazziest of all colours: Blue. Which besides classic black is of course also the vinyl colour for this limited edition.
Good job! It's a beauty inside and outside. Great treatment of a wonderful album.
And it's the shortest track - just one and a half minutes - on this first-time vinyl pressing of Yazz Ahmed's debut album, which gives us an unmistakable clue, where she started - and where she is going. "The Birth Of The Fool" is of course a play on Miles' Cool Jazz phase, way before he went Electric, and when the main attribute which set him apart from other contemporary players was his focus on long notes and emotion instead of boasting with technique and speed.
Musically however this track features one of the the clearest uses of Arabic rhythms and scales, indicating the beginning of Ahmed's impressive journey of self-discovery between the British (obviously American-influenced) and Bahraini side of her identity. And you already can feel it here: The more she leans away from the Western tones, the more elevated and magical her performance gets.
Besides her brass playing she also already introduces her fondness for little electronic tidbits and creative production tricks, but that only appears in rather subtle form here, waiting to be explored much further in the future.
All in all the whole album feels as if she embraced the smooth early bandleader days of Davis, yet stirred the ship towards the musical legacy of the Near East. Half of the tracks are her own compositions with a full band in different constellations, in which of course not only her own trumpet and flugelhorn parts shine, but it's useless to name everything which impresseses here. The whole rhythmic approach is so satisfying, and there are wonderful contribuitions by Shabaka Hutchings on clarinets, John Bailey on piano or the inclusion of Corrina Silvester's hand drumming or the flavour of Chris Fish's cello and so on...
However if I had to choose one most important player besides Yazz it surely would be bass guitarist Janek Gwizdala, who doesn't appear on the band tracks, but on various stunning duet improvisations, including the ten minute title track of the album - plus their version of "Birthdays, Birthdays", a composition by saxophonist Stan Sulzmann (who by the way also performed on the Gyroscope compilation I reviewed the other day).
On the original CD release they also interpreted Miles Davis' "So What" from "Kind of Blue", but just like the original Ahmed song "Flip Flop" that track didn't fit on this vinyl re-release, which also changed the running order of the remaining tracks a little. I actually prefer the overall flow of this shorter version, yet still recommend buying it from a source (like Bandcamp), which also provides you with a digital copy of all ten tracks.
If you're familiar with her later albums it's a pretty large elephant in the room that the original cover of "Finding My Way Home" may be a nice photograph, but not really up to the standards of the amazing artworks which followed.
Her new label Night Time Stories - who also reissued the later masterpieces "La Saboteuse" and "Polyhymnia" - has done a nice job of jazzing it up, with a couple of neat often tried and tested tricks from the school of Jazz iconography: Fill half the frame with typography - huge name, even bigger album title, add some liner note stuff, so the corner doesn't look too dark, and most importantly screw those tourist snapshot colours, keep it monochrome and drench the whole image in the jazziest of all colours: Blue. Which besides classic black is of course also the vinyl colour for this limited edition.
Good job! It's a beauty inside and outside. Great treatment of a wonderful album.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen