Following their successful 2018 collaboration, People Of The Sun, Anthony Joseph called on Jason Yarde once more to oversee the musical settings for his latest album. As you would expect from the Trinidadian/British poet, his impeccably-phrased lyrics are a fiery combination of politics, history and Caribbean culture, with songs like ‘Calling England Home’ a timely contribution to the UK's current reassessment of its colonial legacy. And, perhaps more deeply felt, the tracks ‘Kamau’ and ‘Language’ celebrate Joseph's poetic forebears and inspirations Kamau Braithwaite and Anthony McNeill. In all this he is excellently served by Yarde, whether as composer, arranger or producer – the music fits the verses like a glove, catching the atmosphere of each piece and developing as the poetry moves on. This is especially noticeable over the 10 minutes of ‘Language’ as it stokes from a wandering sax over percussion into a full-blooded storm of improvisation (“I've seen what hurricanes can do to islands!”). The music coalesces into a rich sweep of harmony driven by a simple bass pulse, proceeding to add new phrasing around excoriating sax solos (“like wind in the arc of a horn”).

Similarly, the swooning horn lines that punctuate ‘Swing Praxis’ add an Afro-Caribbean flavor to classic swing style that comfortably incorporates fiery sax work from Shabaka Hutchings as well as Sun Ra-style chanting.

Recorded live in France in August 2020, it presumably had no audience, but we can only pray that a tour of this inspirational combination of words and music will be an early sign of post– pandemic normality.