We’ve previously called him a “…legit and welcome voice in an otherwise culture of poppy hooks and empty verse.” In turn calling his music, “Inherently positive. Creative. Spiritually wholesome and inclusive.” So, what it boils down to is that when music comes along which is truly made from the heart — with the right combination of love & intellect, wisdom & emotion — it’s important to shine a light on it.
That said, including his previous works such as, Inner Places, How A Superhero Feels, Religion, Standing on the Corner: The Unborn Soundscape, Love Fist, and so much more, the Bronx, New York-based indie hip-hop and jazz artist known as, Jokatech (a.k.a., Jason K. Addae), has now crossed the 20-album threshold with his latest effort: the per-usual thoughtful and contemplative, Native Son.
HERE’S WHAT WE DUG MOST…
OUR FAVORITE TRACK… Ages opens with a stream of thought/consciousness-style of prose, placed over that Jokatech-style jazz rhythm. Get this…
“Land of my father, blood of my mother
Fell by a word, he’s one of my brothers
Tell ’em, while you’re young and beautiful
We rebel, then we fly away
Teach, tell them time is brutal
And tell them what the times say…”
Free-style jazz juxtaposes with the old west in, Remember Me Amigo?
Wave of Passion and In Fear of The Phoenix offer ambient examples of Addae’s improvisational ability on jazz trumpet as electro-rhythm tracks offer a bed of sound for the horn-blower to do his thing.
Perhaps in homage to the spaghetti westerns filmed in Italy, My Heart Is In Sicily, opens with samples from another old Eastwood film. What follows is yet another rambunctious jazzmatazz.
Like a brisk Sunday morning walk, Your The Duck And I’m The Goose, follows its predecessors in theme & intention while solidifying one absolute: Native Son is a jazz album—through and through.
Concluding the project is, Vesh, an 11-minute freestyle which seems to musically encapsulate the entirety of this project in its mood and energy. Spontaneous military-style snare-hits underpin keys and horn to ride-out the album in a stick and move fashion that Ali himself would be proud of.
IN CONCLUSION…
Utterly spontaneous. Unfettered by convention. An artist exercising his free musical will and on a mission to express however he sees fit. Jokatech’s latest album, Native Son, is an exercise in free-jazz from a free spirit. What’s absolutely essential to note here, is that music like this is not for the faint-of-heart, not for the amateur music enthusiast, and not for the closed-minded. For this here is a lawless and boundless state of sound intended for those in search of the same. Check out Native Son below.
WHOSE LOVECHILD…?
Billy X. Curmano meets Vince Guaraldi…
BELOW: Listen to Jokatech’s album, Native Son, and connect with his website and social media platforms. Please support Jokatech by visiting him online, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music, or attending a live show! And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
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