Chelsea Carmichael is a saxophonist, composer and arranger who released this, her solo debut, in 2021 and added more lush sparkle onto a music style that has been on fire for me in recent years. My journey into Jazz appreciation came at a late stage, at least compared to other genres that I remain heavily into. I began to soak up the classics as an entry point, the Miles Davis and John Coltrane’s that you always read about before branching out and often backwards to people like Sidney Bechet and Dave Brubeck, as well as digging into the groove of so much classic Blue Note material. There was new stuff on my radar too but nothing close to the explosion enjoyed for the last five years. It was roughly that long ago that the emphasis shifted and Jazz became a principal component to anything exciting and original I was hearing from the area marked ‘contemporary music.’ Yes, my imagination had been captured by the artists the press had herded together and labelled the ‘New London Jazz Scene.’

Now, even though that catch all title is still very much in use, I think there is a wider understanding by those in the know that it is a bit of a fiction. The artists at its core are UK wide and beyond and even though there is much cross pollination between performers, that in itself is hardly anything new in Jazz; they do though all share a visionary outlook that is far more panoramic than to be confined to the style and sound of just one city. That said, I believe the thing that did stimulate me was that, of all the new Jazz I ever listened to, this loose collective of people shares a sound that could only be generated in the modern world. I am talking about The Sons Of Kemet, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Seed Ensemble, Kokoroko, Ruby Rushton and Moses Boyd plus others. Theirs is Jazz played with a pulsating beating heart, a sharpened street wise city edge and wide-open ears that have absorbed everything from Hip-Hop to Be-Bop and have the chops to bring vibes that have gone before into a bubbling melting pot to serve up a banging, heavy brew.

Sons Of Kemet main man Shabaka Hutchings is a key figure in the whole scene and pretty damn important to the Chelsea Carmichael story too. It was his invite that led to Chelsea recording the first full length LP on his new label Native Rebel Records. Sure enough, the resulting record not only fizzled with the va-va-voom that typified so many of the ‘London Scene’ releases, but it also shone a light on Chelsea’s own emerging gift for composition, something which maybe had taken a back seat as she worked with, amongst others, the Seed Ensemble (whose ‘Driftglass’ was one of my albums of 2019) and Outlook Orchestra with Theon Cross. Now, with ‘The River Doesn’t Like Strangers,’ she has un-corked a forward-thinking musical grain of her own that appears to be spilling over with melodic and sonic progressions. Take that title track alone, it is propelled by deep, lolling bass lines but Carmichael’s saxophone progressions develop in a never-ending splintering of directions, each one as worthy and moreish as its predecessor.

And that only scratches the surface, the whole album is a nine-track blast rammed with ideas that are executed with class and style. ‘There Is You And You’ positively throbs, its joys are truly head spinning and by the time the piercing slashes of guitar enter the picture you really do feel like your mind could split open. That is where Jazz music is really doing its job, starting you out on a journey where, if you climb aboard and trust in the magic, you are going to be lifted to a better place. But it is not going to hold your hand and spoon feed you its sweet tastes, you have got to commit. Do that and you will surely enjoy the finest rewards in music. This stuff is important and what you listen to should not always be limited to the background or to enhance other activity, sometimes you need to give it your all. Just as Chelsea Carmichael did with the making of this album, the end result is a collection of music where the grooves are absolutely loaded with imaginative, soul cleansing, sonic pleasures and they come at you in an overwhelming abundance.

Get a vinyl pressing of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/22787624-Chelsea-Carmichael-The-River-Doesnt-Like-Strangers