There is no artist today more exciting to listen to than Nikara Warren – composer of startling works with vivid imagery relocated to the landscape of music, virtuoso vibraphonist, vocalist extraordinaire, who turns on cascades of lyrical rap poetry to accompany herself. Hyperbole? You better believe it because every bit of her musical artistry lights up the studio and stage and burns in the blue part of an often flickering-funky flame.
Appropriately her music is almost Classic Vorticist Art, exploding from an ensemble which presciently called Nikara Warren Presents Black Wall Street. And this absolutely smashing debut recording is – naturally – called The Queen of Kings County being the borough Brooklyn where she was born and raised.
Ms Warren may have received her initial impetus from her illustrious grandfather – the NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron – but the rest of her vivacity is all her own. Her music is redolent of word painting as she describes the Kings County of her childhood. Her compositions seem to raise the clenched left fist[s] à la Tommy Smith and John Carlos [of the 1960 Olympics in Mexico City although she wasn’t even born at the time of that Black Power salute that lit up the world of athletics].
But being black and growing up in Brooklyn’s culturally rich neighbourhood with Caribbean-Black American heritage Ms Warren has also naturally gravitated towards social-awareness. All of this is reflected in the knife-edge imagery of her music. Even her style of mallet percussion, while redolent of the glory of the blues, has a strident edge.
With almost guerrilla-like provocation embedded in her superb music she seems to have connected with like-minded musicians who not simply share her social awareness but – like her – play music as if their life depends on every last note. The horns of Craig Hill, Hayley Niswanger and Alonzo Demetrius, the wailing guitar of Corey Sanchez, the rippling cascades of pianism from Axel Tosca and the dark rumbling of bass and drums from Parker McCallister and David Frazier suggest that they are in complete communion with Ms Warren’s vision and artistry.
This is art which people of my generation would have called “music which copped a ‘tude.” However, in keeping with this almost patrician vibe – encompassing blues, rap, R&B and glorious funk, one is art beyond the realm of jazzy eloquence. Ms Warren’s music has a gut-punch [cue The Hole, and – more so – Solar Plexus]. The three Interlude tracks show a tender side to her music.
She embellishes her recording with classic music reimagined – such as Inner City Blues [Marvin Gaye and James Nyx Jr], Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus – the latter song sung with an amazingly existential howl by J. Hoard.
Meanwhile 2011 [for James Casey] pays tribute to a young saxophonist who played with celebrated bands such as Phish, Trey Anastacio and Friends, Roots and many others. Mr Casey died painfully young and is deservedly honoured with this rendition of his song.
The tumbling jazz grooves of Ms Warren’s Stratford Penthouse may be – for me – the apogee of the recording and features the ineffably beautiful pianism of Kenny Barron – with bassist Tamir Shmerling and drummer EJ Strickland. But in saying so I am only betraying my age and not really giving due credit to rest of the fare on an album to absolutely die for…by the certifiable artistic genius: Nikara Warren.
Deo Gratis…
Music – 1. Inner City Blues; 2. Eastern Parkway; 3. Bed-Stuy Interlude; 4. 2011 [For James Casey]; 5. Stratford Penthouse; 6. The Hole; 7. Flatbush Interlude; 8. Solar Plexus; 9. Move on Up; 10. Prospect Park Interlude; 11. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.
Musicians – Nikara Warren Presents Black Street – Nikara Warren: vibraphone, vocal and synthesizers; Craig Hill: tenor saxophone [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; Alonzo Demetrius: trumpet [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; Corey Sanchez: electric guitar and acoustic guitar [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; Alex Tosca: piano, keyboards, Fender Rhodes, organ and synthesizers [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; Parker McCallister: electric bass [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; David Frazier Jr: drums and synthesizer pad drums [1, 2, 4 – 6, 8, 9, 11]; Hailey Niswanger: bass clarinet, clarinet, saxophones and flute [3, 7, 10]; J. Hoard: vocals [11]. Special Guests – Kenny Barron: piano [5]; Tamir Shmerling: contrabass [5]; EJ Strickland: drums [5].
Released: 2024
Label: Switch Hit Records
[switchhitrecords.com]
Runtime: 51:21