Brilliant cellist-singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson excels herself on this latest EP just released, featuring super-relevant polymath rapper Akala who seems an ideal sparring partner on the Black Lives Matter-inspired title track.
On ‘Declaration Of Rights’ the great UK jazz singer Cleveland Watkiss features and back in 2019 as regular readers of marlbank will recall Ayanna appeared with Cleveland on the Abyssinians 1970s classic at his Great Jamaican Songbook show in the QEH receiving some of the biggest applause of the night as he and Ayanna duetted on the Satta Massagana track.
This pristine studio version has a real edge to it, Ayanna's superb classical technique that recalls the passion of Pablo Cassals morphing via the deft offbeats knitted into the unfolding arrangement that underpins her stirring vocal line all going to herald Cleveland's imaginative contribution and ultimate intimations of Bob Marley towards the end with the 'Get up stand up' line. The riddim track completing an EP blessed with very clear audio definition throughout is also very nicely arranged. Out now via Bandcamp
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