Some relationships need a break. Take a quick breather, take a deep breath, think about why you’re together – whether there’s still a common ground at all. That’s how it seemed to London musician Shabaka Hutchings, also known as King Shabaka (a name that jazz fans know is anything but exaggerated), to go with the saxophone, the instrument that has so defined his career.
Sons of Kemet, Shabaka and the Ancestors, The Comet is Coming – his driving, energetic saxophone playing has shaped the sound of all three bands. But somehow after years of intensive touring and recording and touring the air ran out, and in 2023 Shabaka announced a break from the saxophone for an indefinite period. Instead, he turned to flutes and other wind instruments from around the world, giving us touching releases somewhere between jazz and new age music.
But as a central figure in the London jazz scene of the 2010s, Shabaka was a cross-border crosser anyway: less blues, more influences from punk, hip-hop and electronic music. By returning to the saxophone – he and the instrument have come together again – on OF THE EARTH he now connects both worlds. Even if everything sounds more relaxed than on The Comet is Coming, the punk in him still resonates with songs like “Call The Power”. A successful return of the most beautiful couple in contemporary jazz.
This review appears in Musikexpress 4/2026.
