by Ljubinko Zivkovic (@zivljub)
Those listeners (and fans) that are familiar with the legendary jazz label Impulse! would surely know that at its heights in the sixties it was one of the symbols of more adventurous sounds, that were not strictly bound. After it was revived in the new century, the label kept on its musical credo, signing artists that would keep that free spirit that is grounded in jazz, but without setting any specific boundaries or limits. So it is no wonder that Irreversible Entanglements and their album Protect Your Light have landed on Impulse!
Yes, poet/vocalist Camae Ayewa (often known as Moor Mother), bassist Luke Stewart, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and drummer Tcheser Holmes are grounded in jazz, or if you want a more precise categorization, spiritual jazz, but this quintet has something that can also be labeled as an experimental post-punk mentality and approach to spiritual jazz. This is not the first release for Irreversible Entanglements, as they have three previous albums behind their belt, but what they have brought to Protect Your Light is the musical experience they gained, but also the inventiveness and free spirit they they have already exhibited.
It is that freewheeling ebb and flow that characterizes this album, the ability to move from defined patterns and melody into the individual improvisational mode that give it both its musicality and grace. Ayewa and the band move from spaced-out opener “Free Love” to the melodic groove and rhythms of the title track, that at one point dissolves into free for all improvisation and back, recalling the best moments of the spiritual and free jazz greats like Art Ensemble of Chicago or Pharoah Sanders. It is all garnered with Ayewa’s poetic excursions that make Protect Your Light one of those jazz records that can appeal to a very broad set of listeners.