Anthony Joseph ★★★★ The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running For Their Lives HEAVENLY SWEETNESS. CD/DL/LP

Absorbing eighth album by poet, musician and author. Here, Joseph explores what it means to be British Trinidadian, identifying his postWindrush generational voice through a celebration of the Caribbean diaspora, the unifying thread through much of his work. The album’s legend is taken from the Trinidadian writer and social activist CLR James’s 1938 book on the Haitian revolution, The Black Jacobins. Two of the key tracks, Kamau and Language (Poem For Anthony McNeill), pay homage to the Barbadian and Jamaican poets of their respective titles. The former is a praise song and syncopated jazz dance, centred around Shabaka Hutchings’ spiralling bass clarinet (other band members include such noted jazzmen as Jason Yarde, who also produces and arranges, Colin Webster and Denys Baptiste). The latter, meanwhile, summons sacred spirits through its 10-minute-plus enlightenment groove.

Lois Wilson