g-clef

Review

UK cosmically inclined jazz act "The Sorcerers" are back at it with their newest album "Other World And Habitats". While a lot of the newer jazz scene these days is pushing towards nu-jazz, "The Sorcerers" push against that notion while still leaving room for their own explorations of the genre. They take inspiration from all corners of jazz but here they have much more focus on "ethio-jazz". A style that was born in Ethiopia (hence the name) and focuses on the use of pentatonic scales, often found in traditional Ethiopian music. It's a style that they wear on their shoulder with this album, if you weren't told there's a very good chance that you would guess this is a modern work. It doesn't sound unpolished, or old, far from it. It has a wonderful sound that takes what is expected from a ethio-jazz album and builds on it. It builds so much that there is more than enough cross-over potential for those that don't already love the genre to find a new love for it.

The sounds is certianly not horn-heavy, it's mainly based on piano/synth along with complex rhythms that don't feel overbearing, as over complicated drums so often fall victim to. Horns are only brought in to move along a groove, like on the song "The Ghosts Of Black Drift". Sonically it's large, and really sucks you into the ethos of ethio-jazz. Overall, this album is something that if it came out in the golden era of Ethio-jazz would be considered a technical marvel and one of the greats of its time. It is not at all obvious this was made by a band from Leeds rather than a brass tax act like "Mulatu Astatke", but that's not to say they're copying, or unoriginal. They're the real deal while also innovating. That's one of the best things you can do in jazz. A great addition to the jazz pantheon that I can only hope doesn't go un-noticed.