Saxophonist
Shabaka Hutchings can be seen as a leading figure of the recent British jazz renaissance. He divides his time mainly between the electronically-tinged
The Comet Is Coming, the South African spiritual jazz band
Shabaka And The Ancestors and Sons Of Kemet. Although different in atmosphere, commitment and black power always resound in his bands, often driven by guest singers, poets and
… rappers. The strength of Sons Of Kemet, also on their fourth album Black To The Future, is that they could play their swinging and often inflammatory music for brass and drums on a London street corner, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd. With the deep sousaphone patterns of Theon Cross, the steamy Afro-Caribbean rhythms of drummers Tom Skinner and Edward Wakili-Hick and the dancing playing of Hutchings, every song becomes a dance ritual and celebration of black culture. On Black To The Future, a selection of guest vocalists once again demonstrate this commitment - deep, boisterous, fierce or soulful. (MR)more
