This has to be said upfront, even before you get deep into the music this album is inspirational. Saxophonist/ flautist Aaron Shaw, one of the names to be named on the bustling LA Jazz scene, has steadily built a reputation from his relentless gig work and stellar collaborations. Mentored early on by Kamasi Washington and having worked with Herbie Hancock, Anderson Paak, Mary J Blige and David Chapelle, Shaw became the definitive go-to player, a musician who was more than a side-kick, bringing his own kind of magic to share. Then in 2023, with plans to record a solo debut album underway, he was diagnosed with bone -marrow failure and so had to redefine everything, his ambitions, way of being and the fundamentals of his music making.
So the eventual release of that debut ‘And So It Is’, out now through Leaving Records, stands as a sonic testament to what Shaw has endured, reclaimed and achieved. It’s a record that’s both sobering in its acceptance and uplifting in its reassurance. The opening cut Soul Journey sounds the album’s awakening as horns stir and mingle dreamily. Shaw’s sax searches longingly before tingling harp and percussion eases you into a sprightly samba laced with drifting Philly-pitched strings. There’s a seamless narrative arc to the song, from rest to recovery and back again, ending with Kiernan Wegler’s sombre cello and a distant soprano sax calling gently.
What’s clear from the start is that the ensemble’s collaborative absorption of mood and meaning enriches ‘And So It Is’. With the irrepressible Carlos Niño as co-producer and nurturer, the album displays that same finely woven connectivity between players which distinguishes his “& Friends” projects. The sum is upheld as greater than the parts with Shaw’s sax taking a lead while the band show their full commitment to allowing his story to make its mark.
The pivotal Heart Of The Phoenix highlights this empathic approach and sees the ensemble reach a point of complete meditative flow. It’s a track of Alice Coltrane-level spiritual intensity, a slow rising tune with an air of grandeur and higher purpose about it. Nino’s percussive shading, Shaw’s deep emotive sax/flute combo, spectral showering harp from Merci B and legendary singer Dwight Trible’s soulful groan, all layering their textures like cloud-form. Beats again emerge tentatively, a Mingus minimal bass-line from Lawrence Shaw nudging at Alex Smith’s nimble swing, their shuffling bop coaxing Shaw’s tenor to let go and fly. You might think you can sense where the tune is going but that’s not how ‘And So It Is’ works. Heart Of The Phoenix reaches its destination with a passage of chiming piano and simple flute phrases which repeat mantra-like.
Such mesmeric new age ambience and the evolving sounds of jazz hip hop surrealism are at the heart of Shaw’s soundscape. There’s a playful dose of Sun Ra/Art Ensemble absurdism in the chirpy Jubilant Voyage. Here an ocarina call merges with the looping glitch of synths and voices as Shaw’s flute holds the melody line. The free form coda of percussion scats and raw, minimal wooden flute patterns adds an earthy realism to the unfolding journey. Less wild but equally inventive The Path To Clarity begins with a spluttering drone then goes expansive with burbling hand drums, the rustle of interference and pastoral chamber music curling up together.
It’s tracks like these that show the affinity of the Shaw/Niño production partnership. ‘And So It Is’ allows the saxophonist’s own powerful message to shape the album without any other agendas getting in the way. It parallels Niño’s understated contribution to bringing André 3000’s ‘New Blue Sun’ opus into the world. The gorgeous, consoling Echoes Of The Heart allows Shaw’s sax to croon tellingly with only delicate painterly dashes of synths whispering alongside. The two piano/horn duets, an impressionistic take on Corea’s sultry Windows to the Soul and Shaw’s own Inner Compass, are just as soulfully restrained, Sam Reid’s keys sensitively melodious on both tunes.
Equally crucial is the sense of momentum which courses through the album. The track titles , speaking of journeys, paths, compasses and voyages point to discovery and destination but ‘And So It Is’ soundtracks more than a passage to some mystical transcendence. Aaron Shaw’s album follows the inner struggles of his recent lived experience and resonates with this hard-fought reality. Closing track Never Catch Me Out Of Alignment provides the powerful epilogue to Shaw’s overall statement. It’s an inspired re-imagining of the Flying Lotus/Kendrick epic ‘Never Catch Me’, reconsidering that song’s complex reflection on life and death through Shaw’s acutely personal lens.
Unlike the hyper-speed delivery of the Flylo original, Never Catch Me Out Of Alignment’s pace is slow and contemplative, not mournful but purposeful. Dwight Trible is the narrator here, sage-like but gripped with deep understanding. “Sometimes we feel that we are and what we are is maybe not good enough/ You are unique” he purrs. With an anchoring bass line the tune stretches out, the voice, piano and sax searching together amongst cries of anguish until the whole band commit to a post-rock scale crescendo. Ending in calm harmony the final words, “You know that whoever you are is quite enough/ Be yourself all the way” whisper into the silence.
‘And So It Is’ may be a deeply personal document but its reach extends outwards to everyone. With his honesty and inspiration Aaron Shaw has gifted us music that’s genuinely meaningful.
Get your copy of ‘And So It Is‘ by Aaron Shaw from your local record store or direct from Leaving Records HERE
