– THE PEACEFUL PROTEST –

When Ambrose Akinmusire released second album When the Heart Emerges Glistening in 2011, he included the track My Name is Oscar, an elegy for Oscar Grant III who had been killed by police in the Oakland jazz visionary’s home city.

It started a series of songs recorded by the trumpter and released over subsequent albums that paid tribute to the fallen, most movingly on the track Rollcall For Those Absent (from the album The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint) where a child read the names of Amadou Diallo, Wendell Allen, Trayvon Martin, Timothy Russell and others out.

On fifth studio album On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment, such a ‘statement’ piece comes in the form of Hooded Procession.

However, it is us who are encouraged to ‘read the names aloud’ (the song’s extended title) while Akinmusire plays a slow, sombre chord progression on Fender Rhodes.

Situated, as it is, right at the end of the record, it provides a thought-provoking denouement to an album released at a time when it could scarcely have a more profound impact.

If you like this try my review of Elegy by Jeremy Cunningham.

On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment is out now through Blue Note.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

ZARA MCFARLANE: FUTURE ECHOES
ARMAND HAMMER: CHARMS
JOSHUA REDMAN + BRAD MEHLDAU + BRIAN BLADE + CHRISTIAN McBRIDE: RIGHT BACK ROUND AGAIN
MODERN NATURE: FLOURISH

Remember, you can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the Future Jazz Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

Until next time, love and noise.

– SV –