Jacques Schwarz-Bart expands his vibrant blend of Caribbean musical traditions and modern jazz with 2020's ebullient
Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey. A follow-up to 2007's equally cross-pollinated
Sone Ka-La,
Odyssey finds the saxophonist further refining his genre-bending sound that brings together the kinetic gwo ka percussion traditions from his native Guadeloupe with harmonically nuanced jazz. The son of Black Guadeloupean novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart and French Jewish author Andre Schwarz-Bart, he grew up in a culturally diverse atmosphere and received his first musical lessons at age six from gwo ka percussionist
Anzala.
Schwarz-Bart brought this broad-minded approach to his early work as a founding member of the late
Roy Hargrove's hip-hop jazz ensemble
RH Factor, an experience that resonates throughout his work on
Sone Ka-La 2. While
Schwarz-Bart trades hip-hop for a more global jazz and R&B vibe,
Sone Ka-La 2 still vibrates with a luminous, groove-oriented style that one could imagine appealing to
Hargrove's soulful, bop-informed sensibilities. These are lyrical and rhythmically infectious songs that evoke the globally-minded '70s fusion of artists like
Airto and
Weather Report, but with a contemporary edge. Helping to bring these grooves to life is
Schwarz-Bart's ensemble, featuring pianist
Gregory Privat, bassist
Reggie Washington, drummer
Arnaud Dolmen, and gwo ka percussionist
Sonny Troupe. Also lending richness is singer
Malika Tirolien, whose sparkling, highly resonant voice is showcased throughout, and often in wordless tandem with
Schwarz-Bart's rounded saxophone lines. As with the original album,
Sone Ka-La 2: Odyssey is a stylishly hypnotic experience balancing earthy jazz roots with a sleek club atmosphere. ~ Matt Collar
