Shabaka

The new album by Shabaka is the result of a collaborative process between himself and a number of creative musicians. It marks a departure from the standard ‘band’ format and sees him bring a fresh compositional framework foregrounding his work on various flutes from around the world in combination with creative improvisers to create a textural world which is beautiful, serene and poetic. Each concert will include a solo flute aspect in addition to the collaborations which will (nearly always) include at least one harp chamber music within which compositional fluidity is emphasised (songs are allowed to emerge and disappear as the atmosphere dictates).

The  album was recorded over 6 days in the legendary Van Gelder studio. The same space that birthed classic albums such as Kind of Blue, A Love Supreme and which solidified the Blue Note/ Impulse! Records sound which we associate so readily with the jazz canon. The emphasis throughout these sessions was to create slow moving music that embraced the ‘liminal zones’, spaces usually reserved for the introductions or coda sections of music where energy is still, expectant and infused with the energy of possibility. Hours upon hours of music was recorded and then ‘produced’ into a concise record where the choicest melodic and atmospheric fragments have been foraged and orchestrated.