Miles Mosley: Uprising
Author: Nick Hasted
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Tony Austin (d) |
Label: |
Verve |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2017 |
Catalogue Number: |
5758788 |
RecordDate: |
2012 |
The impact of Kamasi Washington's The Epic, and his presence on Kendrick Lamar's jazz-infused hip hop classic To Pimp A Butterfly, keeps rippling outwards. Bassist Miles Mosley is a fellow founder of LA's West Coast Get Down collective, and Uprising resulted from the same monumental jam sessions as Washington's landmark. “As if you were best friends with a giant,” is Mosley's summation of how he wants this music to feel. Accordingly, the brass fanfares suggest a future-soul epic directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The lyrics of ‘Abraham’ in particular are loaded with biblical imagery, with Mosley a mythic Lazarus, resurrecting himself and saving music. Rather than mad ego, this combines a wry version of hip hop braggadocio with giddy liberation, as he soars free of his long, anonymous apprenticeship, reaching for the clear blue sky. “Thank God for me/Ain't nobody been funky since '73,” goes one winking boast, pinpointing Mosley's historic sweet spot. ‘Reap A Soul’ boasts John Barry-style, James Bond strings, while ‘Tuning Out’ starts with a wah-wah bass solo resembling Eddie Hazel's acid guitar meltdown on Funkadelic's ‘Maggot Brain’. ‘Shadow of Doubt’ is a cousin to Gregory Porter's great ‘Free’ in its revealing sentiment. All danceable sway and shuffle, Philly soul strings and surging organ riffs, it's a song of indebtedness and uplift to those around him. Violent racism and social oppression are unmistakably alluded to, but left in the shadows. Uprising is a loving, healing fightback, intended to energise you when you're down. You could waste a lot of time wondering if it's jazz, but why bother? The music's better for talents such as Mosley, reaching out to be heard regardless.
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