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are stacked in with wonderful imprecision. Notes are placed, not extended. In that sense, the record aligns more with late spir- itual jazz practices, though it avoids overt references or gestures toward transcen- dence. The record resists passive listening engagement. It doesn’t guide or escalate. It maintains a consistent level of intensity: low, but exacting. This is a disciplined move. It strips away the declarative energy that defined earlier work and replaces it with something more contained, but no less deliberate.
Album notes: Wendy Eisenberg (2026) by Wendy Eisenberg. Ensemble-based recording featuring Trevor Dunn and collab- orators; blends composed structures with improvisational execution. Touring includes U.S. and European dates in experimental and jazz-adjacent venues. 3. Of the Earth, Shabaka Of the Earth marks a clear turn in Shabaka’s trajectory. After a decade leading high-volume, rhythm-for- ward groups, most notably Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming , he has stepped into a more reduced format centered on flute, small ensemble interplay, and com- positional restraint. Released in 2026 via Bandcamp (with physical editions through independent outlets), the record arrives alongside a series of intimate performances across Europe and North America, often in seated, acoustically attentive settings. Written, performed, recorded, mixed and produced by Shabaka, the shift is not cos- metic. The flute is treated less as a melodic lead and more as a threshold instrument, hovering at the edge of audibility, where breath, pitch, and silence share equal weight. Phrasing is restrained, and sounds
Of the Earth requires sustained attention without offering clear markers. Variation occurs at a smaller scale in the tone, breath, alignment rather than in form. It is an effort of controlled reduction, revealing an honest voice on the other side of the mic. Album notes: Of the Earth (2026) by Shabaka. Flute-centered compositions with a small rotating ensemble; released via Bandcamp with select physical editions. Touring in intimate venues.
56 MAY/JUNE 2026
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