Diaspora
Studio album by
Christian Scott
ReleasedJune 23, 2017
RecordedApril 16–21, 2016
StudioThe Parlor, New Orleans, LA
GenreJazz
Length49:23
LabelRopeadope Records RAD-365,
Stretch Music
ProducerChristian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Chris Dunn
Christian Scott chronology
Ruler Rebel
(2017)		 Diaspora
(2017)		 The Emancipation Procrastination
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Arts Desk[1]
Exclaim!9/10[2]
Financial Times[3]
Flood Magazine7/10[4]
Pitchfork7.1/10[5]
Record Collector[6]
Tom HullB+[7]

Diaspora is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter Christian Scott released on June 23, 2017 by Ropeadope Records.[8] The album is the second installment of The Centennial Trilogy, with Ruler Rebel and The Emancipation Procrastination being the first and the third ones respectively.[9]

Background

The title Diaspora refers to the entirety of Adjuah's listening public, even though the term has specific meanings in the African-American experience, celebrating the rhythmic feels and traditions that arose from the historic movement of African peoples to the Americas and around the globe.[10] Adjuah explains "We're trying to highlight the sameness between seemingly disparate cultures of sound as a means of showing a broader reverence and love for the people who create the sound and the experiences that lead them to those places."[11] Jazzwise included the album in the "TOP 20 JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2017" list.[12]

Reception

Jeff Terich of Treble wrote "Diaspora, meanwhile, shifts away from some of the first installment’s darker, more hallucinatory tones. The title track alone marks a pretty dramatic transition, its laid-back trip-hop beats ushering in a more accessible, immediate sound that features a little less in the way of stylistic experimentation. Which isn’t to say there isn’t any; in fact, Diaspora is largely cut from the same cloth, albeit with results that skew a bit more toward the pop-friendly. “Desire and the Burning Girl,” for instance, is one of the album’s most surreal, with a heavy dose of effects clouding Scott’s horn playing as a rhythmic pulse grooves in the background. Yet there’s more of a lightness about these tracks overall; “Lawless,” for instance, is by production standards a pretty hectic and dramatic track, though it’s ultimately a highly melodic piece, even loungey in a way that’s not so obvious."[13] Mike Hobart of Financial Times commented, "Diaspora, released in June, emphasises group texture and the supple blend of Scott’s muted trumpet with Elena Pinderhughes’s flute."[3]

Jason P. Woodbury of Flood Magazine noted "If Ruler Rebel was a NOLA-fied New Hope, thematically centered on, in part, “the return of the Demagogue,” Diaspora is the mysterious, downtempo Empire Strikes Back. Much of the record maintains this hazy, noirish hue: the fuzzy, Dilla-esque “No Love” and the John Key Jr.–penned “Uncrown Her” evoke the neo-soul of the late ’90s and early ’00s. But Scott never settles entirely into an easy groove. The complex drumming of “Lawless” keeps it from working as aural wallpaper, its constant twitching always too arresting to function as background music. Same for “Bae” and “New Jack Bounce.” Though both are labeled as interludes, they feel as engaging as the longer suites, offering rhythmic asides that punctuate the airy gauze of Scott’s trumpet, which shifts from clear, bell-like tones into phased, psychedelic washes of sound."[4]

Track listing

Diaspora track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Diaspora" (feat. Elena Pinderhughes)Scott, Lawrence Fields4:57
2."IDK" (feat. Braxton Cook)Scott, Lawrence Fields4:18
3."Our Lady of New New Orleans (Herreast Harrison)"Scott3:44
4."Bae (Interlude)" (feat. Lawrence Fields)Lawrence Fields2:11
5."Desire and the Burning Girl"Scott5:36
6."Uncrown Her"John Key Jr.3:53
7."Lawless" (feat. Braxton Cook)Scott, Lawrence Fields4:00
8."Completely" (feat. Elena Pinderhughes)Scott6:19
9."New Jack Bounce (Interlude)" (feat. Weedie Braimah)Scott3:00
10."No Love"Erik Bodin, Fredrik Wallin, Håkan Wirenstrand, Yukimi Nagano6:10
11."The Walk"Scott, Lawrence Fields, Sarah Elizabeth Charles5:19
Total length:49:23

Personnel

  • Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – trumpet, siren, sirenette, reverse flugelhorn, SPD-SX, sampling, sonic architecture
  • Elena Pinderhughes – flute (tracks 1 3 6 7 8 11)
  • Lawrence Fields – piano, (tracks 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 10 11)
  • Kris Funn – bass (tracks 1 2 6 7 8 10 11)
  • Cliff Hines – guitar (tracks 1 2 3 6 8 10)
  • Corey Fonville – drums, SPD-SX (tracks 1 2 3 4 6 7 10 11)
  • Joe Dyson Jr. – pan-African Drums, SPD-SX (tracks 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 11)
  • Weedie Braimah – djembe, bata, congas (tracks 1 9)
  • Chief Shaka Shaka – dununba, sangban, kenikeni (tracks 1 9)
  • Sarah Elizabeth Charles – special guest, vocals (track 11)

Chart performance

Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Jazz Albums (Billboard)[14] 9

References

  1. ↑ Wright, Matthew (9 July 2017). "CD: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Diaspora". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Press, Kevin (June 21, 2017). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The Emancipation Procrastination". Pitchfork. exclaim.ca. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 Hobart, Mike (29 December 2017). "Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah: The Centennial Trilogy — 'bittersweet and contemporary'". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 Woodbury, Jason P. (14 July 2017). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, "Diaspora"". Flood Magazine. floodmagazine.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Colter Walls, Seth (21 October 2017). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah Diaspora". Pitchfork. pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Waring, Charles. "Jazz* Collector - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Christian Scott". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Christian Scott – Diaspora". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Mullin, Kyle (July 19, 2017). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The Best Of What's Next". Paste Magazine. pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  10. ↑ Zacharias, Isabel; Fleeger, Matt (January 5, 2018). "Christian Scott's Centennial Trilogy Is A Masterpiece". KMHD. opb.org. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  11. ↑ Chinen, Nate (April 27, 2017). "Songs We Love: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, 'Diaspora'". NPR. npr.org. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2017". Jazzwise. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  13. ↑ Terich, Jeff (2017). "Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah : Ruler Rebel/Diaspora". Treble. treblezine.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "CHRISTIAN SCOTT: CHART HISTORY". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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