A solid modern jazz album in the Blue Note tradition with a Latin angle, the title a reference to Max Roach's 1960 protest album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, evoked through strongly melodic tunes composed by Brooklyn saxophonist Kazemde George and performed with vocalist Sami Stevens, keyboardist Isaac Wilson, bassist Tyrone Allen II, and drummer Adam Arruda.
Label: Greenleaf Music Catalog ID: CD-GRE-1087 Squidco Product Code: 31095
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2021 Country: USA Packaging: Digipack Recorded at Big Orange Sheep, in Brooklyn, New York, on December 11th and 12th, 2019, by Christopher Benham.
"I Insist is the debut album from Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Kazemde George. The title is a shout-out to Max Roach's landmark 1960 protest album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, a statement of George's own determined disposition as a Black American, and an acknowledgement of our turbulent times.
Leading a quintet of stellar New York players - vocalist Sami Stevens, keyboardist Isaac Wilson, bassist Tyrone Allen II, and drummer Adam Arruda - the record is a vibrant collection of ten original compositions inspired by George's interest in music of the African diaspora. 'Understanding' features a Cuban changüí-inspired groove. 'Haiti' originates from one of George's own looped electronic beats. Stevens contributes lyrics to the laid-back 'Skylight' and the somewhat sorrowful 'Happy Birthday,' as well as wordless vocals to three others.
The music is unapologetically swinging and fully engaged, whether simmering on a low flame or reaching climactic heights of intensity."-Greenleaf Music