EMMA-JEAN THACKRAY – YELLOW (2021) track by track

The sound of ‘Mercury’ begins the album, the ‘Love supreme’ riff is played on bass and Emma-Jean urges us to ‘Say Something’. The old and new – trumpet (played by Emma-Jean) and electronic keyboards sound as if made for one another, potent jazz fusion is being created. The word ‘mercury’ is repeated and Emma-Jean narrates- ‘to listen is to know and know is to love’; there’s something distinctly spiritual going on here; a solitary Rhodes electric piano with an exhortation to open your eyes rather than your mouth then the drums enter; there’s a string trio and a choir, some baritone sax and some flute. ‘About That’ is on the avant-garde side, just the artist and a drummer. That’s side one and already you realise that you are listening to something special. (I Call You) ‘Venus’ opens side two and gets into a real groove. (Gimme the) ‘Green Funk’ has a brass section and a Wurlitzer organ and leads to another strong hook in ‘Third Eye’. Sousaphone, baritone and tenor sax and trombone comprise an unusual and distinctive brass section. ’May There Be Peace’ is an incantation with four voices and percussion. ‘Sun’ is the next celestial body to get the treatment as the funky insistent grooves continue. ‘Spectre’ refers to a ghostly black dog, another unusual twist. There’s some electric piano and conga driven funk on ‘Rahu & Ketu’ with resonant bass and articulate drumming. The title track is just Wurlitzer organ and four voices with handclaps. Sousaphone is prominent on the percussion rich ‘Our People’ complete with a Rhodes solo. ‘Mercury’ is reprised at the end of side four. Comparisons have been made to Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane as well as P-Funk. However, this is an astonishingly original album and a magnificent debut that stands alone.