Your Queen Is a Reptile
signals the arrival of Caribbean-born, London-based saxophonist/clarinetist
Shabaka Hutchings
'
Sons of Kemet
on
Impulse!
The band's unusual lineup -- saxophone/clarinet, tuba, and two or three drummers -- fits with the historic label's revolutionary tradition forged by
John
and
Alice Coltrane
,
Pharoah Sanders
, etc.
Hutchings
is no mere descendent of his heroes, however. He's amassed dozens of musical credits (including work with
Mulatu Astatke
Yusef Kamaal
) and leads three different bands:
Shabaka and the Ancestors
, and the electro space-jazz outfit
Comet Is Coming
.
This is
's third album. Its title refers to the white patriarchy as made manifest in royal and political matriarchies (the queen and Theresa May), and their unrepentant racism toward immigrants. The nine tracks pay homage to iconic Black women from Angela Davis and Harriet Tubman to social psychologist Mamie Phipps Clarke and
' own great-grandmother, Ada Eastman. Despite the charged nature of the concept, these sounds are not easily categorized as "angry." In fact, if one knew nothing about the motivation here, they would swear the music reflects only Black celebration and joy. Herein lies the terrain where the carnival tradition of the Caribbean stretches west and north simultaneously to New Orleans' marching bands and South London's adventurous, well-integrated contemporary music scene; it's where modern avant-jazz meets funk, folk tradition, grime (thanks to two raps by poet
Joshua Idehen
), and reggae (courtesy of toaster
Congo Natty
). "My Queen Is Ada Eastman" opens with rolling double-drum kits (
Tom Skinner
Seb Rochford
-- the latter alternates with or complements
Eddie Hick
Moses Boyd
) -- while
Theon Cross
' tuba establishes a hypnotic bassline and
weaves a labyrinthine, almost snaky melody. They dig deep into reggae with "My Queen Is Mamie Phipps Clarke," as
Natty
delivers a Rasta poem with
' tenor winding around him amid stretched-out dub effects. "My Queen Is Angela Davis" equates, knotty, martial, yet funky rhythms as
Cross
exchange a contrapuntal lyric line that touches on carnival music and Arabic double-harmonic scales. While "My Queen Is Nanny of the Maroons," titled for the famed Jamaican anti-colonialist, uses a hypnotic Nyabinghi rhythm, the tuba lays down a rocksteady bassline and
breathes out a gentle modal ballad.
Nubya Garcia
adds a second saxophone to "My Queen Is Yaa Asantewaa" amid incantatory Ghanaian-style drumming and a declarative tuba. On "My Queen Is Albertina Sisulu," the drumming and stretched harmony delineate where South African township jive meets avant-jazz (and traces a direct line from
Brotherhood of Breath
). Hip-hop, funk, and
Fela
all meet in closer "My Queen Is Doreen Lawrence" (titled for the British Jamaican campaigner), with punchy tenor lines, roiling snares, and kick drums with bleating below-the-floor bass notes.
is easily
's most compelling outing. It offers inspired stylistic contrasts, canny improvisation, and killer charts. It's tight, furious, joyous, and inspirational. ~ Thom Jurek