EMPYREAL SPIRITUAL JAZZ IS UNLEASHED BY MAISHA
“I ’d been through so many different genres before I got to jazz,” says Maisha’s drummer/leader Jake Long. “Then my dad gave me an Art Blakey CD, Moanin’, which has got this track Drum Thunder Suite on it… that was it really. My love affair with jazz had begun.” Long, 25, took up playing when he was 12, and served in indie bands before his Damascene moment, forming London-based sextet Maisha in 2016. Its name, he says, is a Swahili word meaning ‘life’. Rated for their kinetic live performances and new debut album, There Is A Place, the band are blowing minds with their furious collision of sounds and styles. “When I was first putting the band together,” explains Long, “I was listening to a lot of ’60s and ’70s spiritual jazz, like Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, as well as Jimi Hendrix and a load of Afrobeat. It’s all in there.” Long has surrounded himself with formidable musicians, including ace Jazz Jamaica/Nérija guitarist Shirley Tetteh – “one of the most original-sounding guitarists I know,” he enthuses – and noted saxophonist/ flautist Nubya Garcia. “She was my first call,” says Long of the winner of Jazz FM’s 2018 Breakthrough Act award. “I love her flute-playing. She’s played a massive part in shaping the sound of the project.” On record, the sextet is augmented by a string section, which succeeds in bringing epic dimensions to music that ranges from fiery, percussion-driven groovers to tranquil, meditative soundscapes. “I wanted the album to be more than just a gig,” says Long, explaining his use of broad sonic canvases. ”I wanted to make it part of an ongoing body of work. And I’ve always been a fan of huge-sounding ensembles with all sorts of percussion going on.” They have their own identity, but Maisha will certainly appeal to those who have been seduced by Kamasi Washington and the wider resurgence of forward-thinking, spiritual jazz. “Kamasi’s had a massive impact,” says Long, admiringly. “He’s brought the genre to life again.” Despite the cosmic grandeur of Maisha’s music, Long’s aspirations for the band’s LP are simpler: to ensure they carry on in their mission. ”I’ve committed so much to playing music and playing drums that it’s like a spiritual thing to me now,” he says. “I need it, to make my soul feel happy.”
Maisha’s There Is A Place is out now on Brownswood Recordings.
“Kamasi’s brought the genre to life again.” JAKE LONG