Nubiyan Twist

★★★ Freedom Fables STRUT. CD/DL/LP

Many-legged Leeds/London fusion fiends show off an estimable range.

These Leeds College of Music alumni have spent six years perfecting their freeflowing assemblage of jazz, soul, hip-hop and whatever other diasporic style they fancy adding to the mix. With regular on-stage focal point Nubiya Brandon seemingly absent, vocal slots are shared among a spread of guests, with one-time Tomorrow’s Warrior Cherise proving an ideal foil, cutting through the funk guitars and forthright brass of Tittle Tattle and holding her own on Brazilian workout Keeper. Elsewhere, breathy house chanteuse Ria Moran (Morning Light) and the agelessly sage Ego Ella May (24-7) easily earn their shine. While showcasing a further surfeit of talents – Zongo Brigade’s K.O.G., Ghanaian singer Pat Thomas, a raphappy Soweto Kinch – could make Freedom Fables feel like a compilation, a wide streak of jazz connects the dots.

Andy Cowan