Sometime in the near future: Reincarnation is not a religious belief, but a scientific fact. And while people try to build on their knowledge and experience from times past, the state does everything in its power to prevent or at least control this.
What sounds like a dystopian novel by US science fiction author Octavia Butler is actually a short story thought up by Alfa Sekitoleko. The story forms the starting point for the new, sixth album “Roulette” by the British jazz musician better known as Alfa Mist. “This work is a kind of soundtrack,” as the 35-year-old explains at his concert in Berlin’s Metropol on the occasion of his current tour.
Alfa Mist comes from London. But the recognition he now receives has no meaning with the hype surrounding the new British jazz scene and musicians like Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings and Joe Armon-Jones. Rather, Alfa Mist has painstakingly earned its reputation on its own.
Autodidactic learning
Growing up in humble circumstances in London’s Newham district as the child of an immigrant mother from Uganda, Mist made grime beats and rapped as a teenager. About sampling and Hip hop producers like J Dilla and Madlib he finally comes to jazz. In order to better understand the structure of music, he began teaching himself to play the piano via YouTube at the age of 17.
His debut album “Antiphon” will be released in 2017 and it already contains many of the components that characterize Alfa Mist. On the one hand, there is the Fender Rhodes, whose warm sound forms the basis for his compositions. Then there’s guitarist Jamie Leeming, drummer Jamie Houghton, trumpeter Johnny Woodham and bassist and singer Kaya Thomas-Dyke, with whom Mist still works closely to this day.
Here, Mist conceptually structures his album with a theme, as the tracks revolve around his brother’s mental problems. The follow-up, “Structuralism,” which was released two years later, was released by Mist on his own label, Sekito. The cover motif comes from Thomas-Dyke, who also paints and designs all of Mist’s covers. The content is now about his sister’s story.
The album “Roulette,” released last year, is Mist’s most complex work to date. With guest contributions from US rapper Homeboy Sandman and soul singer Tawiah, the fifteen songs impress with atmospheric string arrangements. Alfa Mist performed this work with a large orchestra in December in the venerable Royal Albert Hall in London.
The concert in Berlin’s Metropol, which took place last Sunday as part of his tour, is completely different: Mist plays in the quartet together with his long-time partners Leeming, Houghton and Woodham. Since Kaya Thomas-Dyke is not there, there are no vocal performances and the evening remains purely instrumental. Her role as bassist is played by Flo Moore.
The sound is reminiscent of fusion jazz at its best in the mid-1970s
It starts with the title track “Roulette”. Already at this moment it becomes clear what will follow in the next 90 minutes. The combo takes the song’s motif as an opportunity for extensive solo improvisations. Leeming’s guitar sounds metallically cutting like John Scofield’s, the bass drum pumps powerfully, and Johnny Woodham takes every opportunity to blow his horn. The sound is reminiscent of fusion jazz at its best in the mid-1970s.
Loop pedals or rhythm shifts, which are common in jazz concerts today, are rarely used. Of course the beats make you think of hip hop and drum’n’bassn, but that also happened in the past, seee for example the piece “Planetary Citizen” (1976) by John McLaughlin. In addition to new and old pieces, the band bows to the US jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard with a song.
In the middle of the stage, Alfa Mist sits relaxed behind his Fender Rhodes, casually rocking back and forth, nodding his head to the beat. Above all, he listens carefully to what his colleagues compose on the spot. This also applies to the audience, who applaud the group’s elaborate excursions – a celebration of the rebirth of fusion jazz and virtuoso interplay.