Throughout his career, Haitian-Canadian composer/multi-instrumentalist
Jowee Omicil
has recorded albums of contemporary jazz, funk, soul, fusion, various global folk styles, modal, post-bop, and more.
Spiritual Healing: Bwa Kayiman Freedom Suite
marks the first time he's employed history as inspiration. Specifically, August 14, 1791, in Haiti's Bois Caïman, when slaves from several plantations gathered for a voodoo ceremony that birthed the idea and inspiration for Haiti's 12-year revolution.
is performed by
Omicil
on saxophones, woodwinds, and brass,
Arnaud Dolmen
and
Yoann Danier
on drums,
Jendah Manga
on bass, and
Randy Kerber
Jonathan Jurion
on various keyboards. Over 60 minutes and 21 tracks, the band aesthetically envisions and transposes the spirit of that evening. No matter how kinetic, dissonant, or disruptive this music can be, it is rendered with a calm, collective center.
"BasHquiat Intro" commences with a chant, percussion, bass clarinet, and chimes. It is solemn and incantatory as jumbled electric piano chords join the fray just before an acoustic piano grafts gospel chords onto the progression. "Call to Warzone," with sparse electric bass, electric guitar, and trumpet, advances new utterances in group dialogue. "Scout Yo La" uses acoustic piano, piccolo, and drums to engage in call-and-response with itself and an electric Wurlitzer piano's blocky chords, chanting, and handclaps. "Corbeau & Le Renard" approaches vanguard jazz-funk through syncopated percussion, bluesy alto, and modal piano chords that serve to frame contrasting drum patterns. "Échapé Blues" is indeed a blues, with loose, slippery applications of a Ka drum, trap kit, electric bass, and piano which fashion a shifting pulse under
and vamp in a marching rhythm. "Cry 4 HeLp" emerges from a syncopated breakbeat snare pattern. Soprano sax and piano swirl around percussion and one another, contrasting short and long phrases in urgent conversation. Another blues, "Blue Cotton" strolls and shuffles through lyric post-bop before the Ka drum and kit join to create a tension the other instrumentalists respond to. "Redevance" is a complex exercise in polyrhythmic, post-bop swing;
's tight, pointed alto lines in the solo recall
Greg Osby
's. Further, its title ("royalties" in French), seemingly references reparations owed to descendants. Closer "LangaJ RaLaviré" ushers a low-end bass while interlocking piano and drums engage in a rhythm inspired by New Orleans' second-line street parades. They frame an urgent trumpet adorned by kick drums. The insistent pulse is a guidepost for
's alto playing modal blues. In its expressionistic evocation of a poignant and paramount moment in Black history, the playing on
is not only inspired, it's passionate, beautifully performed, and should resonate with all fans of vanguard jazz. ~ Thom Jurek