Hailed for the vibrant eclecticism and socially conscious engagement of its eponymous 2015 debut, the spellbinding jazz- world ensemble AJOYO returns with War Chant. The four-track EP offers an enticing preview of the group’s full length sophomore release WAR CHANT, due out in early 2020.
Alongside saxophonist/bandleader Yacine Boularès, War Chant features a deeply attuned working lineup with vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles, keyboardist/producer Jesse Fischer, bassist Kyle Miles, guitarist Michael Valeanu and drummer Philippe Lemm.
Trumpeter Takuya Kuroda appears on “Assyko,” and Keita Ogawa and Foluso Mimy guest on percussion as well.
Celebrity Café has praised AJOYO’s melding of “old-world Cameroonian beats with traditional jazz themes,” while All About Jazz has described how “the music exudes sophistication yet responds to a primordial pulse.” Those energies, and a continuous creative evolution, are evident again on War Chant, which opens with the cathartic title track aimed squarely at Trump’s misrule.
“Assyko,” according to Boularès, is named for a Cameroonian rhythm and intended to evoke “pure joy and celebration of Roy Hargrove. The bridge and the effect on Takuya’s trumpet are a reference to Roy’s tune ‘Strasbourg/St. Denis.’”
