Zara McFarlane: Arise

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Zara McFarlane (v)
Moses Boyd (d, prod)
Shabaka Hutchings (ts, clnt)
Peter Edwards (p)

Label:

Brownswood

October/2017

RecordDate:

2016

Heavily inspired by a trip to Jamaica, home of her parents, this album marks another key stage in McFarlane's artistic development. The singer goes even deeper into her Caribbean roots, both musically and lyrically than she did on previous projects, and the result is a satisfying listen for the quality of her band, helmed by regular collaborators, pianist Peter Edwards and drummer Moses Boyd (who's also the co-producer), as well as the choice of material. McFarlane has found a way of blending the wide range of Jamaican musical idioms, from the folklore of kumina to the populism of lovers rock and the futurism of dub with her proven ability as a jazz singer without creating a jazz-reggae fusion per se. Several of McFarlane's own originals and a fine cover of the Congos' ‘Fisherman’ are marked by a kind of balmy, hazy, hypnotic ambiance that is an effective foil for the singer's carefully deployed timbre, which is also framed by some very articulate soloing. Eschewing the aid of any big-name collaborators McFarlane appears to be finding her own voice and fulfilling her potential as she sees ft.

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