Irreversible Entanglements are a liberation-oriented free jazz collective formed in early 2015 by saxophonist Keir Neuringer, poet Camae Ayewa (a.k.a. Moor Mother) and bassist Luke Stewart, who came together to perform at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event organised after the slaying of Akai Gurley by the NYPD. Months later the group added trumpeter Aquiles Navarro and drummer Tcheser Holmes for a single day of recording at Seizure’s Palace in Brooklyn, and the full quintet’s first time playing together was captured for their startling self titled debut.
Irreversible Entanglements⤬
Irreversible Entanglements are a liberation-oriented free jazz collective formed to perform at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event organised after the slaying of Akai Gurley by the NYPD.
'And while Irreversible Entanglements draws on that tradition, they aren’t merely mimicking an older version of jazz. They are making it resonate now, emphasizing it as a music of ritual, much like Ayewa’s other loves, like gospel and blues. It conveys all of the urgency of her raw, earlier work now across a greater vista, untethered by time yet wholly in the present.' — PITCHFORK
'It’s a harrowing listen, and one of the most powerful and relevant works of art you’ll encounter this year' THE QUIETUS
'Ayewa’s words—which are furious, but delivered with seething rage rather than showy howls—add to the intensity until it’s almost too much to take. This album will make you clench your fists' STEREOGUM
Though free jazz with voice is an uncommon approach in the modern day landscape of the genre, the spirit and subject the band channels and explores represent a return to a central tenant of the sound as it was founded – to be a vehicle for Black liberation. As creative and adventurous as any recording of contemporary avant-garde jazz but offering listeners no abstractions to hide behind, this is music that both honors and defies tradition, speaking to the present while insisting on the future.