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: \/ F A N G \ / : '
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\ / presents \ / .
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: Artist......: Kamaal Williams
: Album.......: Wu Hen :
: Label.......: Black Focus Records .. .:.. .
Genre.......: Jazz :
Catnr.......: BFR007CD .
' Source......: CD ,
; Rip.date....: 2020-07-24
Str.date....: 2020-07-24
Quality.....: 249kbps/44.1kHz/Joint Stereo . :..
.:. Url.........: http://kamaalwilliams.bandcamp.com '
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\ / # title time \ /
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1. Street Dreams (Feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson) 2:13
2. One More Time 3:10
3. 1989 3:22
4. Toulouse 2:48
5. Pigalle 6:14
6. Big Rick 3:27
7. Save Me (Feat. Mach-Hommy) 5:58
8. Mr. Wu 3:37
9. Hold On (Feat. Lauren Faith) 3:20
10. Early Prayer 4:59
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\ / ________ Runtime 39:08
,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 73.87 ______
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: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
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,: Powered by drummer Yussef Dayes and keyboardist Henry ôKamaalö :,
: Williams, 2016Æs Black Focus ùthe duoÆs lone release as Yussef :
:' Kamaalùneatly mirrored the renaissance of jazz out on the West ':
,: Coast helmed by Kamasi Washington. Uncluttered yet rhythmically :,
: deep, Black Focus also revealed the true range of UK jazz; its :
:' ready assimilation of hip-hop, R&B, Afrobeat, dubstep, and ':
,: broken beat set the stage for the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, :,
: Kokoroko, and Ezra Collective to rise up in its wake. But Dayes :
:' and Williams soon splintered, never building on that keystone. ':
,: :,
: Yet, with each passing year, Black Focus grows in importance and :
:' resonance. It continues to inform WilliamsÆ subsequent ':
,: releases, from his house music-indebted productions as Henry Wu :,
: to the group he helms now; heÆs even adopted Black Focus as his :
:' label name. Following from 2018Æs The Return, Wu Hen forges ':
,: further into jazz-funk territory, staking out a middle ground :,
: between the spiritual fire and the glossy textures of smooth :
:' jazz, a terrain that keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith himself ':
,: mapped back in the 1970s. :,
: :
:' The songs themselves seem aware of that disparity, with ':
,: neighboring tunes serving as subtle variations on a shared :,
: theme. The needling synths and vocal ad-libs that jolt ôOne More :
:' Timeö impart a craggy feel, but Rick Leon JamesÆ supple bass ':
,: throbs even it out, while WilliamsÆ shimmering keyboard :,
: accompaniments find more space as we suddenly slip into ô1989.ö :
:' A decidedly more mellow take on the same groove, Quinn MasonÆs ':
,: buttery saxophone mixes eloquently into swells of scored :,
: strings, which come courtesy of guest Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, :
:' the L.A.-based multi-instrumentalist and arranger. ':
,: :,
: ôToulouseö and the subsequent ôPigalleö evolve in similar :
:' fashion. Williams puts away the keyboards and reverts to piano ':
,: to state the lovely theme, when heÆs joined by MasonÆs breathy :,
: sax and pizzicato strings. As WilliamsÆ comping turns choppy and :
:' JamesÆ acoustic bass runs quicken, the piece opens up into ':
,: ôPigalle,ö which moves the sound into Maiden Voyage-era Herbie :,
: Hancock territory, flowing like a tributary into an open sea. :
:' For all of WilliamsÆ penchant for blending together the ':
,: electronic textures of different eras, the in-the-studio feel of :,
: this post-bop jazz throwback stands out, feeling spontaneous :
:' rather than carefully deliberated. Even MasonÆs otherwise ':
,: unobtrusive horn pushes to its harsher register, giving the song :,
: a harder edge. A similar trick occurs between the pliant :
:' balladry of ôBig Rickö and the disco groove of ôSave Me.ö ':
,: Drummer Greg Paul flips to double-time and Williams gets within :,
: shouting distance of the off-kilter dance tracks he makes as :
:' Henry Wu. As he toys with the filters on his synths, the song ':
,: evolves yet again into ôMr. Wu,ö leading to the kind of :,
: infectious jazz-funk that could slot into a Theo Parrish set. :
:' ':
,: Atwood-FergusonÆs arrangements to the set are the clear :,
: stand-outs, adding yet another era of musical tradition for :
:' Williams to draw upon (in this instance, the opulent charts ':
,: crafted by the likes of David Axelrod and Gil Evans) and new :,
: textures for his group to react to. Yet the gorgeous opener :
:' ôStreet Dreams,ö which foregrounds Atwood-FergusonÆs work, ':
,: feels interrupted. The use of harp and orchestrations hearken :,
: back to the likes of Alice Coltrane (a touchstone for the :
:' Angeleno), but just when the piece seems like itÆs about to ':
,: achieve lift-off to a higher plane, it instead comes to an :,
: abrupt halt at two minutes. :
:' ':
,: WilliamsÆ music emphasizes the malleability and evolution of :,
: sound across styles and eras, even drifting into an R&B track :
:' voiced by the up-and-coming Lauren Faith stashed away near the ':
,: albumÆs end. But the continual stylistic shifts make stretches :,
: of Wu Hen feel fidgety, hurriedly racing off to somewhere :
:' different rather than lingering and deepening its focus. ':
: '
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\ / Shout out to all our homies from: \ /
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