The Karman Line

Description

Building on the success of Work Money Death, The Flying Hats and The Library Archives: Volume 4, ATA Records is proud to present Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble. When musicians are on tour, conversations naturally turn to music. Two years ago, while exploring jazz bars and record shops in Tokyo, wind instrument master Chip Wickham and Neil Innes, the brain behind ATA and bassist, discussed their shared influences: Yusef Lateef, David Axelrod and Alice Coltrane. The seeds of a new project were sown and soon, seven tracks of deep, spiritual and rhythmic jazz were recorded. The album offers varied moods, while sharing a sense of reverence and exploration. On Karman Cantata and All Is, Chip's flute hovers and soars, carried by dreamy harp and waves of impressionist piano. Low Orbit explores a funkier direction, with Steve Parry's brass arrangements (notably the unusual instrumentation of bassoon, horn and tuba) evoking 70s Quincy Jones and the laid-back style of Archie Shepp's Mama Too Tight. Celestial Matari and Molecules recall the cosmic and fluid sounds of Joe Henderson and Alice Coltrane's masterpiece, The Elements, while Earthly Elements is resolutely grounded. Driven by a powerful bassline and a rich palette of percussion, Chip's flute becomes rawer, grittier and more insistent, drawing inspiration from Yusef Lateef's Psychicemotus and Roland Kirk's Blacknuss.