Hard to believe it's 16 years since Ambrose Akinmusire won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. That same year, he won the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition plus his debut album on Fresh Sound. In 2011, Akinmusire signed to Blue Note Records where he released five albums as a leader one as a member of the Blue Note All Stars. He's been a frequent guest artist appearing on albums by Jen Shyu, Me'shell Ndegeocello, guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and Mary Halvorson, Jack DeJohnette, and many more. He's also has collaborated with Australian composer Michael Yezerski for two seasons on the soundtrack of the STARZ series "Blindspotting". Earlier this month, Akinmusire was named the Artistic Director for the incoming class of 2025 of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (formerly the Monk Institute) in Los Angeles, CA.
Now, Ambrose Akinmusire is launching his own label, Origami Harvest. The first release is also Akinmusire's first solo album. Titled "Beauty Is Enough", the 16 tracks were recorded in Paris inside the Church of St. Eustache (pictured below)––the trumpeter rented space within the building bringing sound engineer Julien Bassères along to capture the improvisations. In an excellent interview with Nate Chinen for his SubStack blog, "The Gig", Akinmusire said "You know, the idea started from talking to Wadada and Roscoe, and them talking about the importance of having a solo record". (Sign up for "The Gig" as it is now Mr. Chinen's main vehicle for writing). There's certainly a precedent for this album as there are numerous Creative Music solo trumpet albums including several excellent TUM releases by Wadada Leo Smith.
As stated above, there are 16 tracks clocking in at just under 50 minutes. Only two are over four-minutes long and all are absorbing. Solo albums tell a story––few of them are created to highlight technical brilliance––and "Beauty Is Enough" is filled with dedications, memories, and dreams. Listener sit down, start on track one ("To Taymoor"), pay attention to the intimacy of the sound (and the resonance within the building), to how Akinmusire builds the piece up from the opening tones to a gentle melody, and the softness of his attack. Other "dedication songs" include "Carvin" (for drummer Michael Carvin), "To Shabnam", and "To Cora Campbell" which closes the recording. There are others tracks with names attached but also tracks such as the playful "Off the Ledge" (feels like madcap romp based on "Reveille") and "Achilles" which, to these ears, sounds like a chase scene in a cartoon.
Over the course of his career, Ambrose Akinmusire has made us listen to the power in his music, to his responses to the world around him that he translates into sounds and images. "Beauty Is Enough" feels more like a launching pad for future adventures than a summing up of where the trumpeter has already been. Listen and judge for yourself but do listen with an open mind.
I do not receive Blue Note albums to review - I buy the ones I really want. Over the past decade, trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire has caught my ear and mind, not only on his own recordings but also his work with David Binney, Walter Smith III, and Wolfgang Muthspiel (to name but three). His own recordings stand out for the width and breath of his imagination. Yes, he's a fine musician yet it's the 36-year old Oakland California native's compositions and arrangements that truly set him apart. Akinmusire absorbs all he hears on the bandstand, in concert halls, in practice room, on the radio, and in the streets, adding those myriad sounds to what he reads in books, essays, and in the daily papers.
"Origami Harvest", his fourth album for Blue Note Records, is, arguably, his most ambitious sonic adventure. The six original compositions feature two members of his Quartet, pianist Sam Harris and drummer Marcus Gilmore, plus vocals from rappers Kool A.D. and LmbrJck_t as well as impressive string work from The Mivos Quartet. I have yet to hear the entire album - still, judging from the fascinating video below, this is a major work. Filmed in the streets and from the sky above his native city, the film compiles excerpts from the entire album, with natural images interspersed with impressionistic choreography and the powerful vocals. Experimental? Yes! Thought-provoking? Absolutely! Let this music soak in. Art has the power to disrupt even as it entertains.
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It would be remiss of me not to mention that Jason Crane and The Jazz Session is back. You can see that in the right-hand corner of this blog. In a bit of shameless self-promotion, I was fortunate to be interviewed by Mr. Crane as I am a sponsor of his work on Patreon and he asked if I would contribute to his "subscriber Bonus Material" by talking about one of my favorite albums. Readers of this column how hard it is for me to pick a Top 10 every year (some years, as high as 42) but, for the sake of sanity, I chose two and went with a third, "Freedom Suite" by Sonny Rollins, his ground-breaking recording from 1958 featuring drummer Max Roach and bassist Oscar Pettiford. I invite you to listen (click on the link) as that post is open to the public and I urge you to be a Patreon subscriber. There are few interviewers, if any, more engaging than Jason Crane and you'll learn a lot about some fine creative artists.
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