Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kirk Whalum: Humanité
Kirk Whalum: Humanité
ByThe album was recorded all over the worldfrom the quiet English seaside town of Hastings, to up-market districts of Tokyo. Whalum also stopped off in Jakarta, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Paris, London andlast but by no means leastMemphis, Tennessee, his birthplace.
Why he chose to spell Humanity the French way remains a mystery, one that is compounded by a reference in the liner notes to humilité.
The first track, "Everybody Oughta Be Free," starts with ethereal saxophone, followed by the title repeated again and again. It gets tedious. "Don't Get Me Wrong (I'm Grateful)" is up-tempo and more of a finished product, though again the title is repeated a little too many times for comfort. This is a love song: "I'm taking a breath every time I lay my eyes on you; What did I do to deserve your love?"
"Wake Up Everybody" is one of those "clap hands and save the world" songs. Its rationale is clearly stated: "The world won't get no better if we just let it be. We've got to change it, just you and me." Then "Wildflower" takes the opposite tack, with "Don't wake the baby" lyrics"Sleep is the only freedom that she knows."
On "Get Your Wings Up," declares Whalum in the liner notes, "With one voiceat times with wordswe speak." He plays nicely on this one. As does Andrea Lisa on electric guitar. Though, again, there's too much repetition of the lyrics for comfort. "Korogocho" is a tribute to the slum of the same name on the outskirts of Nairobi, It features Whalum on soprano sax.
Track Listing
Move On Up; Everybody Oughta Be Free; Don’t Get Me Wrong (I’m Grateful); Wake Up Everybody; Wildflower; Get Your Wings Up; Now I Know; SJL; Korogocho; Blow 4U; Peace; We Shall Overcome You; From The East To The West.
Personnel
Kirk Whalum
saxophoneBrendan Reilly, Robyn Troop, Mi Casa, Afgan, Liane Carroll, Andrea Lisa, Zahara, Keiko Matsui, Marie Ishii, Kumiko Ishii, Maki: vocals; Mark Jaimes, Tsepo Teddy Moloi, Gary Goin, Kevin Turner: guitar; James McMillan, Dr Duda, Chris Carter: keyboards; Mark Edwards, Keiko Matsui, John Stodhart: piano; Mo-T: trumpet; Senzo Gabriel Mzimela: trombone; Kabelo Seleki, Noaya: saxophones; Kasiva Mutua: percussion; Marcus Finnie, Wesley Joseph: drums; Marcus Miller, Barry Likumahuwa: percussion; Brayton Lacy, Idy: bass guitar; Erskine Hawkins: clarinet; Motoki: shamisen; Tomoko: koto; Ryosuke: keyboards.
Album information
Title: Humanité | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Mack Avenue Records
< Previous
Jill Barber, Django Reinhardt, Kay St...