
SML
#4: Chicago (out there) jazz label International Anthem celebrates its 11th anniversary at BRDCST
SML (International Anthem)
SML (US) is a brand new quintet consisting of key figures from LA’s thriving jazz/improv/indie scene: bassist Anna Butterss (Makaya McCraven, etc.), synth wizard Jeremiah Chiu (Marta Sofia Honer, etc.), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Carlos Niño, etc.), percussionist Booker Stardrum (Amirtha Kidambi, etc.) and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann (Perfume Genius, etc.).
Their debut Small Medium Large builds on Makaya McCraven’s In The Moment, a landmark album in the International Anthem label’s catalogue. The live improvisations on the album were abundantly edited using the cut-and-paste technique. For his part, McCraven drew inspiration from producer Teo Macero, who first applied this technique within a jazz context on Miles Davis’ classic In a Silent Way from 1969.
Boomkat (about their debut): “Psychedelic study of raw grooves that takes its frenetic pulse from a diverse array of influences: from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti to Pole and Can.” Lastly, SPIN: “Strikingly original—and wildly evocative—art-fusion.”
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