Are you familiar with Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah? If not, you should be. The innovative jazz trumpeter is pioneering a new form of jazz he's dubbed "stretch music" that fuses the genre with elements from others, creating a more fluid and cross generational musical conversation. In case you're unfamiliar, though, the good folks at NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Series invited Christian and his band to sit in for a few songs and it's something you have to see and hear for yourself.
During the 33-minute set, Christian and the band (which includes flutist Elena Pinderhughes, saxophonist Braxton Cook, guitarist Dominic Minix and drummer Corey Fonville) delivered two songs from his album, which also happens to be named Stretch Music. First up was "TWIN," a lyrical jazz piece that crisscrosses between rhythms of different cultures, from Mali to Senegal to Benin to the Ivory Coast to Cuba and back to his home of New Orleans. He then gave Braxton some shine with "West of the West," a fun composition that features elements of rock and blues. The third and last song of the set was the emotional "K.K.P.D." or "Ku Klux Police Department." The song, which is spawned from Christian's own experiences with police brutality (and also the only song from the set not from Stretch Music), is an emotional meditation on the state of America today as it deals with a rash of injustice and strife in its communities.
All in all, it was an amazing set to introduce the jazz man to some and to simply remind others of his extraordinary talents. You can check out the full video of the performance right here. As well, be sure to pick up you copy of Stretch Music, which is available now on Bandcamp.
