Shabaka, who will be at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 November, is “an emblematic artist for the age.” Feature by Phil Johnson
Much of the well-deserved attention for ‘Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace’, the debut solo album by Shabaka – the artist previously known as Shabaka Hutchings – was about his forsaking the earthy saxophone for the transcendental qualities of the flute. What partly got lost in this concern about what horn he was choosing to play – and its flutes plural in this case, because there were lots of them, plus clarinet – was how astonishingly original a suite of music the album was. And how daring: a jazz artist from the UK making his first release of a highly-anticipated signing to a big US label with barely a walking bassline or a conventional solo in sight, let alone a cheesy standard or pop song.
It also concealed the bigger story of how Shabaka, now aged 40 and a veteran of several bands and projects over the last 20 years, is now a worldwide star. Chosen as a guest by the biggest names in jazz such as Esperanza Spalding, he has a larger international profile than that of anyone here since the pomp of Courtney Pine, with whom he shares an Anglo-Caribbean background as well as prodigious talent. Last year Shabaka shared top co-billing with the producer Floating Points in a one-off live performance of the album ‘Promises’ in front of 17,500 people at a sold-out Hollywood Bowl, taking on the role created by his spiritual jazz mentor, the late Pharoah Sanders.
What ‘Perceive Its Beauty…’ did give us other than the flute was an intensely worked, intricately structured series of largely meditative, downtempo tunes – some using spoken or sung words, and some not – and a lyrical subtext dealing with, among other things, the meaning of blackness in contemporary society. It didn’t immediately lay all of its treasures out on the table before you, but retained a vital air of mystery throughout, so the meanings were released slowly over repeated listening. The music didn’t really sound like anyone else either, despite using a number of guest artists. Recorded over a week at the legendary Van Gelder studio in New York and then assembled in post-production following the method established by producer Teo Macero with Miles Davis on ‘Bitches Brew’, the album also sounded startlingly new. Tracks retained the tentative air of experimental demo recordings combined with a highly-finished surface where every note or vocal consonant was made to feel exactly right. It was a success, too. Critics liked it, people bought it and a live outing at London’s Barbican earlier this year proved a sold out hot ticket.
Now, the album gets another live outing in the larger and grander setting of the Royal Festival Hall, on Saturday 30 November, presented by the South Bank in association with promoters AEG Presents and Eat Your Own Ears. The upcoming date will be similar to the Barbican performance in the range of instruments and performers called upon, with a repertoire largely based on the album, and some special guests yet to be named. “For the live show I’m using double harp, synthesiser and piano which is a real sonic treat for me to play within”, Shabaka says of the plans for the RFH. “There’s a similarity in how two harps interact together that reminds me of the conversation double drums enact, but with a melodic element as opposed to the purely rhythmic (which is also contained within the melodic framework of the harp lines). Then, with the other piano instruments, there’s this convolution of melodies which makes me dream of the ancient Central African polyphonic music I’m yet to hear.”
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As to the influence of record labels and public expectations about his music, Shabaka appears admirably unconcerned. “What I’m doing is simple, working on what I consider to be the best music I can produce under the circumstances that I find myself in”, he says. “That might mean having the audio information from particular studio sessions as much as it could mean having portable electronic music-making devices. I’m quite particular and discerning in the music that I like. Centring and awareness and following my own musical taste as it develops in real time with all the experiences I gather though a life in music, is my main consideration artistically.” This attitude extends, therefore, to considerations over what instruments he chooses to play, and to what purpose. “The different instruments I play all have their particular roles in my personal practice in terms of what I’m working on in my personal technical progression”, he continues. “But most importantly they reveal a sound world that I like. This is the primary concern for me in deciding to deal with an instrument. Do I truly enjoy both the sound being created and the effort enacted to create it?”
Nor is the record label a particular influence in determining which musical direction he chooses to follow. “No, the label doesn’t really have much input into what direction I go down artistically. I just work on material and present it to them. They’re pretty open to that being the dynamic and that’s the only way i can work effectively. I just work on my music and follow whatever pathways the music suggests. I’m too deep into the areas I’m exploring to have any other considerations that centre around music I made years ago.” Doing what he likes, playing what he feels, and following his own muse while alert to inequality and injustice in society, Shabaka is very much his own man, and an emblematic artist for the age. Now, it seems, really is his time.
PP features are part of marketing packages.
Shabaka at the Royal Festival Hall, Sat 30 November, 7.30pm
(this tour also has UK dates in Bristol and Manchester)
LINKS: BOOKINGS FOR 30 NOVEMBER
Reviews: of album Perceive its Beauty… / and Barbican live show