Whoever put together the programme blurb for Ambrose Akinmusire’s forthcoming concert of “smooth sounds” in Hong Kong was either underselling his artistry for wider appeal or needs to take a deeper dive into the American composer and jazz trumpeter’s back catalogue. It’s true, Akinmusire’s most recent release was a masterclass in subtle sonics that might be pleasing to the ear, but there’s not a whiff of lift Muzak about , a delicate, late-night meditation teaming the trumpeter’s croon with the swelling twang of Bill Frisell’s guitar and the airy drumming of Herlin Riley. It’s also true that this release arrived, at the end of 2023, only six months after the even more naked offering – a deep mood piece bravely recorded as just an unaccompanied horn.
Look a few years further back and you’ll find a different conception of ragged beauty in 2018’s , an experimental outing that – somehow and with only fleeting success – paired Akinmusire’s searching improvisations with both a formal classical string quartet and the frequently profane interjections of rapper Kool A.D. But Akinmusire’s most enduring recordings are those made with his long-standing cohorts – Sam Harris (piano), Harish Raghavan (bass) and Justin Brown (drums) – so it’s exciting to learn that those musicians will be joining him onstage at the Xiqu Centre Grand Theatre, West Kowloon, on July 26.
This quartet was first captured on the thrilling, two-hour live album (2017), recorded.
