Alex Hitchcock: Letters From Afar

Alex Hitchcock made his name as an emerging talent in London when he decided to move to New York City  to, as he put it, "engage with the music being made here, because as a white British musician playing Black American music, engaging with the context in which that music is made is important." Letters from Afar is his first shot across the bow from America, putting together a stellar band from the city's local jazz scene. The songs are all Hitchcock originals, and the band plays the hell out of them. Lex Korten creates hypnotic groves behind the horns, and Harish Raghavan and Jongkuk Kim provide the complex rhythmic background for Hitchcock's compositions. Having worked with some of the finest young musicians in London, Hitchcock makes good use of the talent available in NYC.

Trumpeter Dave Adewumi especially interacts with Hitchcock well, weaving his trumpet blasts between Hitchcock's solos, especially vivid on the song "Invisible Beasts." When the two horns play together on the main riffs, it creates a mesmerizing effect. Hitchcock is not a fast and furious soloist but rather takes his time and gets a beautiful tone from his horn, so it's no surprise that one of the highlights of the album is his solo on the ballad "OE." The live track that ends the album, "Rio," recorded at Amsterdam's Bimhuis, shows just how seamlessly the band mesh with Hitchcock even in live settings.

Hitchcock is in an interesting place in his career, having achieved recognition for his talent in the UK and now bringing his sound to the US (and still in his 30s), where he has found like-minded compatriots to build his music on. Letters from Afar is a robust American debut.