The fuzzy boundaries of jazz are perpetually expanding; on his sophomore album, Wu Hen, Kamaal Williams roams and tests their wide latitudes. The album takes its name from a childhood moniker bestowed on Williams by his grandmother and is representative of the spiritual and temporal endeavour music-making represents for him. Fans of his first album, The Return, and his 2016 project, B¡ack Focus, with Yussef Dayes, will be pleased to hear a fluid amalgamation of genres and time periods within and between tracks, with distinctly British sounds drawn from grime, jungle, house, and garage beats, and the voices of Wbeeza, Stirlos, and K-Dubz.

His sound is unified by a grounded subliminality thanks to the ethereal strings of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and versatile saxophonist Quinn Mason. In the opening track, ‘Street Dreams,’ hazy gauze yields to the catchy, geometrics of ‘One More Time.’ Its melody, which feels reminiscent of a video game someone born in 1989 might have once played, downshifts into ‘1989,’ where Atwood-Ferguson's strings add a subtle romance to the track's low-key, twinkling funk, which also mesh with the cosmic synths and pared-down disco grooves heard elsewhere in the album.

Mason provides lyricism throughout, and most excitingly channels Coltrane in his standout, exploring solo in the bebop ‘Pigalle.’ The penultimate, sensuous track, ‘Hold On,’ pairs R&B singer Lauren Faith with harpist Alina Bzhezhinska. The final track deftly combines a monologue that ebbs into a calmer meditation, evocative of the album cover's painted clouds by Othelo Gervacio.

A lesser composer's attempt at such a wide-reaching album could feel disjointed, but Williams' attention to the songs' transitions masterfully bridges jazz, funk, rap and R&B.