Label: Redefinition Records, 2020
Personnel - Archie Shepp: tenor and soprano saxophones, Wurlitzer, []; Raw Poetic: vocals/lyrics; Damu the Fudgemunk: drums, vibraphone, turntable, background vocals; Pat Fritz: guitar; Aaron Gause: Wurlitzer, synthesizer; Luke Stewart: acoustic and electric bass; Jamal Moore: tenor saxophone, percussion; Bashi Rose: drums, percussion.
This improvised jazz-rap project where words and music effectively mesh, consists of an unexpected yet successful collaboration co-led by the iconic free/avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp, the latter’s nephew MC Raw Poetic (Jason Moore), who conceived the idea, and multi-instrumentalist and hip-hop producer Earl ‘Damu the Fudgemunk’ Davis. The result is uniformly excellent, a fruitful mix of instrumental smoothness, bouncy beats, raw and angular improvisation, and tense recitals by the lyricist Raw Poetic.
“Learning to Breathe” passes exactly the idea suggested in the title with the help of Fudgemunk’s turntable scratching. Lush jazzy Wurlitzer chords and Luke Stewart’s immersive bass lines support the rap and clever sampling, as well as Shepp's tenor, which fits beautifully.
“Tulips” is another notable highlight that blooms with Shepp’s soprano flies, a showcase of his fiery musicality and expressive notion of groove. With an awesome vibe and deep words, this piece is a sort of A Tribe Called Quest experimenting with free horns atop. The winding soprano blows are extended to “Aperture”, whose firm narrative benefits from a proportionate musical consolidation between guitar and keys. Yet, the tune’s starting point is no less brilliant, with unaccompanied vibraphone leading to a funky drum n’ bass conception that vouches for soulful resonance.
The tunes drop in with resolve, and the lifted funk provided by “Sugar Coat It” still oozes something atmospheric under looping patterns reinforced by guitar bends and ostinatos. Feels good to see the kinetic rap traversing these sharp jazz-hop mosaics with nerve.
Snippets of soul jazz and smooth funk are detected on “12 Hour Parking”, where the synthesizer shading exudes dramatic sensitivity and the fingerpicked jazz guitar of Pat Fritz plants motivic ideas.
Regarding the seven parts of “Professor Shepp’s Agenda”, I was particularly pleased with the part six, layered with evocatively swinging jazz charisma, and part seven, characterized by a strong motif at the base and rhythmic variation associated to a loose-limbed drumming.
Ocean Bridges is a solid work from top to bottom; an intoxicating marriage between jazz and hip-hop that certainly made this challenging 2020 a bit better for the ones who gave it a try.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Learning to Breathe ► 04 - Tulips ► 10 - Sugar Coat It