カマシ・ワシントンと比肩するロンドンで活躍するサックス奏者/バンド・リーダー/コンポーザーのシャバカ・ハッチングスがimpules!と契約!彼のグループSons of Kemetの3枚目のアルバムがimpulse!移籍第一弾としてリリース!Sons of Kemetは、テナー・サックス、チューバ、ダブル・ドラムの奇想天外なミックスで構成。この3枚目のスタジオ・アルバムでは、英国のカリブ海への絶え間なき探求を祝い、ジャンルに縛られないアプローチを展開。全曲ロンドン録音でジャングル界のレジェンド、Congo Nattyや詩人Joshua Idehenなど幅広いUK音楽シーンにおけるさまざまなゲストをフィーチャー。本作は英国にはびこる階級と人種差別の不正を正当としているライフスタイルを賞賛する英国君主制の圧制的なシステムに対して言及、一種の宣言ともいえる作品。 Hutchingsは英国の女王によって代表されるようなる階層を受け入れない。
彼はこの偶像崇拝の代わりに自分自身の女王を提示する。「実際の行動によって導いてくれた私たちの女王たちは、とたとえば人の話には耳を傾けた。私たちの女王たちは、残酷で不公平な過去から明るい未来を作ったのだ。」という。"My Queen Is Ada Eastman," "My Queen Is Harriet Tubman," "My Queen Is Angela Davis," "My Queen Is Yaa Asantewaa."などどとのトラックもそれぞれ異なる女王を祝した曲で構成。音的にはニュー・オリンズからカリブ海、そしてロンドンや中東までをもカヴァー。チューバ、ドラム、サックスのインストゥルメンテーションでカリブ海の島々の世界にも探求。話しことばやラップ、ダブの要素も加わり、現代のヒップホップの世界にジャズの領域を広げている画期的作品!

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2018/02/07）

Spin - "With a twin drum attack and nimble tuba player Theon Cross, KEMET makes for a formidable rhythmic backdrop for Hutchings to move about in, perfect for appealing to a new generation of jazz fans less focused on standards and chord changes than letting the beat hit `em." Uncut - "Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings led the charge for new British jazz in 2018, flanked here by the revelatory tuba of Theon Cross and the twin drum attack of Tom Skinner and Eddie Hick."

Rovi

Your Queen Is a Reptile signals the arrival of Caribbean-born, London-based saxophonist/clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings Sons of Kemet on Impulse! The bands unusual lineup -- saxophone/clarinet, tuba, and two or three drummers -- fits with the historic labels revolutionary tradition forged by John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, etc. Hutchings is no mere descendent of his heroes, however. Hes amassed dozens of musical credits (including work with Mulatu Astatke and Yusef Kamaal) and leads three different bands: Sons of Kemet, Shabaka and the Ancestors, and the electro space-jazz outfit Comet Is Coming. This is Sons of Kemets 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 Hutchings 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 Londons adventurous, well-integrated contemporary music scene; its 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 and Seb Rochford -- the latter alternates with or complements Eddie Hick and Moses Boyd) -- while Theon Cross tuba establishes a hypnotic bassline and Hutchings 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 Hutchings tenor winding around him amid stretched-out dub effects. "My Queen Is Angela Davis" equates, knotty, martial, yet funky rhythms as Cross and Hutchings 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 Hutchings 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. Your Queen Is a Reptile is easily Sons of Kemets most compelling outing. It offers inspired stylistic contrasts, canny improvisation, and killer charts. Its tight, furious, joyous, and inspirational. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi