Alabaster DePlume

Saxophonist, arranger and poet Alabaster DePlume is one of the most amazing blossoms in the motley portfolio of Chicago hipster jazz label International Anthem. While labelmates like Irreversible Entanglements, Jaimie Branch, Makaya McCraven, Ben LaMar Gay or Angel Bat Dawid inject much-needed fresh energy into improvised music with a wide variety of concepts and strategies, Angus Fairbain, originally from Manchester, sees his music more as a social process. At the Total Refreshment Center in London's Hackney district, Fairbair regularly hosts his "Peach" sessions under his stage name Alabaster DePlume, which break with all kinds of conventions of the music world. DePlume played his songs with constantly changing lineups, consisting of professionals and non-professionals. When he toured the USA, he had other musicians put together a special band for each stop. The desired openness is also documented in the current album "Gold: Go Forward in the Courage of Your Love," which actually represents a kind of musical welcoming culture. Over the course of two weeks in the summer of 2020, the 19 songs were recorded in constantly changing lineups, which were mainly met with a fair amount of empathy. Everything was possible, few rules applied: No long rehearsals, no listening to the finished recordings, no hiding behind virtuosity and song material. In most cases, only two people present knew the song in question, to which the others had to react by improvising and communicating. Then, in the best Teo Macero manner, the album was assembled from 17 hours of music. The result is a peculiar hybrid of kaleidoscopic sounds with a "jazzy" flair and moments that are equally reminiscent of Devendra Banhart, Donovan, Albert Ayler, Charles Lloyd or the Incredible String Band. In short: hippie improv, transformed into and for the 21st century, spiritual, political, accessible, spun, mischievous, unironic - and all at the same time.