Melding traditional Haitian Vodou music and loose modernistic improvisational sounds drummer Ches Smith and We All Break have come up with something very fresh and absorbing on 'Here's the Light' drawn from the upcoming Path of Seven Colors. The piece features an altoist who has already impressed so much in different contexts, the great Miguel Zenón (see more when he was in an Ornette Coleman space or by contrast doing bolero in a brilliant duo from releases made earlier in 2021). The bluesy ache of his core sound is nestled within the busy flux of polyrhythm and the earthy chanting of tanbou drummer-singers Daniel Brevil, Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene and Markus Schwartz. It's an intriguing mix that bespeaks a community feel on the one hand but also harnesses some very avant passages on the outskirts of the core mood featuring fine avant piano playing from Matt Mitchell. Out on Pyroclastic on 11 June
Ches Smith and We All Break top. Photo via Pyroclastic
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