Honey From A Winter Stone (2025)

"Ambrose Akinmusire holds high expectations for himself as a man and a musician. His thinking and musical practices are inseparable from one another and concern responsibility (for one's community, oneself, and one's family) and individual and collective struggle governed by the spirit of creative exploration and discovery. "Honey from A Winter Stone" is Akinmusire's eighth album; he brought his live rhythm section (pianist Sam Harris and drummer Justin Brown) with synth sorceress Chiquita Magic, vocal improviser Kokayi, and the Mivos Quartet. Akinmusire calls this album a self-portrait that illustrates his personal belief that "I am tension and release." Further, he credits the inspiration of late composer Julius Eastman for these 5 long pieces and dedicates the album to him. This is arguably the most forward-thinking, emotionally vulnerable, and moving album in Akinmusire's catalog. It offers an intimate musical language that transcends genres while being at home in them all." (AllMusic; 4,5 uit 5 sterren)