Joseph Shabason - The Fellowship [CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: WV226CD
Barcode: 0843563134016
Release Date: 30th April 2021
Genre: Jazz / Experimental

R.I.Y.L. Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Laraaji, Robert Rich, Harold Budd. Across eight tracks that mesh spacious, jazz-laced composition with fourth-world and adult-contemporary tonality, Toronto saxophonist Joseph Shabason sketches an auditory map of the transcendence, unity, conditioning, and eventual renunciation of his upbringing in an Islamic and Jewish dual-faith household. The resulting album The Fellowship bears the name of the insular Islamic community Shabason’s traditionally Jewish parents belonged to from a time before he was even born; a mental and spiritual push-pull which continued shaping, even controlling, his outlook well into his adulthood. As a listening experience The Fellowship follows a chronological arc that spans three generations covering his parents’ early lives, his own spiritual and physical adolescence, and his subsequent struggle to eschew the problematic habituations of such a conflicted past. On The Fellowship, as on prior albums that bear his name, Joseph Shabason does what only the best instrumental music makers can: tell a story with emotional clarity that conveys even the subtlest of feelings, all without singing a single word. As wordless as ever-- with as complex a theme as ever-- this album may be his most emotionally articulate yet. Most importantly, those lost in the woods of repression and self-doubt that organized religion can be at its worst now have The Fellowship to help guide them into a softer light. “gorgeous and empathetic ambient music.” Pitchfork // “I love it…very original...so exciting." Bob Boilen, NPR Music // “…densely textured ambient jazz that is wonderful to immerse yourself in…” The Guardian // “...seriously engaging…” Aquarium Drunkard // “…magical transportive healing vibes.” Gorilla vs. Bear // “…rich, healing ambient jazz.” The A. V. Club // “…at once intimate and universal, honest and hopeful.” Resident Advisor // Track List 01 Life With My Grandparents 02 Escape From North York 03 The Fellowship 04 0-13 05 13-15 06 15-19 07 Comparative World Religions 08 So Long