By Nick Metzger
A few years after their haymaker of 2021 Cosmic TransitionsIsaiah Collier and Company return with another album of four-alarm fire music with their fourth release, The Almighty. This time, the Chosen Few features Michael Shekwoaga Ode on drums, Jeremiah Hunt on bass (both returning from the previous release), and Julien Davis Reid on piano. It is the quartet’s second record for Sonny Daze’s Division 88 and Collier and Ode’s third following their 2022 duo release I am beyond. There is a beautiful
interview
with Collier by Rob Shepard for Post Genre, where they discuss this record in the context of old masters. Collier, like many musicians, sees himself as a facilitator – contributing to existing conversations but also expressing his culture as a black musician of his time. As a newly minted member of the AACM – whose members include some of the greatest musicians of all time – Collier has his hands full. Still, everything I’ve heard from the man suggests he’s more than up to the task, and this album is no exception. A wealth of joyous noise, full of good vibes and hope from one of Chicago’s most talented and intriguing young players.
The album opens with a track called “Love,” with Dee Alexander, also of AACM, on vocals. The song feels like an initiation, its sugary threads slowly building to a crescendo of vocal howls, saxophone roars, and thunderous percussion. “Compassion” opens with the sound of a rainstick, with Ari Brown, also of AACM, joining the quartet. The sound is expansive with glockenspiel and soaring piano runs, and the saxophones are augmented by studio reverb, adding to the surreal feel of the music. The two tenors sing in duet over a gradual, hazy build that isn’t so much a song as it is layered vibrations. In “Perspective (Peace and Love),” Collier begins the track by singing a vocal mantra against a surging background of flute and small percussion. Once it gets going and the piano picks up the melody, the piece takes shape. This one is particularly reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders and perhaps Harry Miller and/or Louis Moholo-Moholo’s uplifting spiritual jazz. The chittering intro to “Duality Suite” is where things really heat up. With a length that’s about three times the previous songs combined, the quartet spreads things out, switching between different modes and motifs and offering some truly stormy solos. It’s excellent. On the final piece, Collier is joined by The Celestials, an 11-piece ensemble that complements the quartet with strings and additional horns. The third-stream approach of the piece ends the record in quite a majestic fashion.
I’ve been looking out for this record for a while and it did not disappoint – not one bit. It was definitely one of my favorite records of this year and I’ve been listening to it for a while since this one came out in April. The playing on the album is absolutely electric, Collier gets better with each release and combined with that rhythm section the music is driven to some very emotive places. They play a special blend, there’s not a lot of fusion or genre mixing like Kamasi Washington or even Makaya McCraven, they play pretty straight forward – but yet it sounds equally modern. This is a testament to Collier’s expanded musical vocabulary. And on that note, it’s worth noting that last year Collier released a great direct-to-disc recording called Parallel Universe which presents another facet of his music (it’s probably outside our purview here, but for those who are interested, it’s an excellent listen, I really enjoy it). This young quartet is one of the absolute best in modern jazz, progressive and sophisticated, but also intimate and joyful. Go and see them live. Highly recommended.
