Shabaka
Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
Impulse!
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Since 2016, Shabaka Hutchings has created music across a variety of genres, with various groups. Though eschewing the “jazz” label, the undercurrent throughout his various guises has undoubtedly been one fueled by the jazz greats who came before him. The Comet Is Coming released three albums filled with electronic, rock and funk influences; Shabaka and The Ancestors were labelled by Pitchfork as a ‘space-age jazz sextet’ and Sons of Kemet conjured a brand of street-fighting, shit-kicking jazz that railed against racism and societal ills. Throughout it all, Hutchings’ saxophone rang strong and true.
But now, things have changed—here, on his debut solo album, the saxophone is mainly gone. Citing the sheer physical workload of touring and playing with the saxophone, he has embraced the flute and the lighter sounds associated with it. Alongside him, as always, is a sterling supporting cast that offers clues to the sounds contained within. Brandee Younger the acclaimed harpist appears fresh from Meshell Ndegeocello’s GRAMMY-winning The Omnichord Real Book (2023), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson arranges strings and Carlos Niño adds his percussive talents.
As much as the personnel steal headlights, so does the recording venue. Hutchings wanted to gather a group of musicians he admired together at the legendary recording studio that Rudy Van Gelder created for the iconic Blue Note Records label, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Playing without headphones and all together in the room, Hutchings wanted as little as possible to get in the way of the music that flowed.
It is worth noting that fellow flautist André 3000 pops up on “I’ll Do Whatever You Want,” but beyond the obvious instrumental connection there is another one. Both Hutchings and 3000 seek to leave behind the heft of their history and look for a newer, lighter existence. Where 3000 leaves behind his voice and rhymes, so Hutchings leaves the sax to find new strands to his identity.
Listen to the Album:
While listening to and thinking about Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, it became clear to me that this clearly exposes the futility of album reviews like these where a rating is given. So much of the beauty of this album depends on the listener giving time over to engaging with it properly—it both requires and promotes peace. It has a purpose that can be easily drowned out by the noisy, busy lives we lead, but those lives are the exact ones that need an album like this. It reflects back at us the eternal Catch 22 many of us find ourselves in on a daily basis.
It is not entirely one-paced though. Though the solemnity and quiet beauty of “End Of Innocence” is a common theme, there are pieces like the album highlight ‘I’ll Do Whatever You Want” that change the dynamic entirely. Aided by Floating Points’ stellar (in both senses) electronic pulses and delicacy and Esperanza Spalding’s bass, Dave Okumu’s guitar is a beacon from a space-bound rocket, searching for life in the great beyond.
Elsewhere, Moses Sumney’s voice blends beautifully with Hutchings’ flute work on “Insecurities,” as do Saul Williams’ sonorous tones on “Managing My Breath, What Fear Had Become.” As impeccable as Hutchings playing is, his taste in collaborators is just as good. Further evidence of which is offered on “Kiss Me Before I Forget” and Lianne La Havas’ wordless vocals. The song feels like hazy summer sunlight filtered through the leaves of gently swaying trees.
Ultimately, if you want peace, you’ll find it here in abundance. And if you don’t, then maybe you never really wanted it or weren’t quite ready for it. But you can bet your soul that if you give it the time and space it needs, it will reward you many times over.
Notable Tracks: “I’ll Do Whatever You Want” | “Insecurities” | “Kiss Me Before I Forget”
LISTEN: