Driftglass

Driftglass

London-based 10-piece SEED Ensemble features some of the UK’s most exciting rising jazz musicians, including their bandleader, composer, and alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, and Sons of Kemet’s Theon Cross. Their Mercury-nominated debut carries to shore an eclectic raft of influences, from Miles Davis at his ’60s height (“The Darkies”) to hints of piano legend Jason Rebello in “The Dream Keeper.” There’s rawness in the tripping beats of “Afronaut”—a sprawling epic framing XANA’s commanding spoken word—while the bluesy, fervent chanting in “WAKE (For Grenfell)” pushes through powerful, ever-more-twisting brass and complex rhythms. The final track, “Interplanetary Migration,” featuring London MC Mr Ekow, sinks joyfully into African grooves, with the collective’s impressive chops and thrilling, tight ensemble lifting it high into orbit.

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