By James Hale | Published June 2022
With a dominant sonic landscape that’s as quiet, tentative and introspective as prayer, Grief functions as a soundtrack for a meditative walk through a gallery of grave social injustices and loss. Highly cinematic and textured by the whispery vocals of Nio Levon and the strings of the Argus Quartet, Samora Pinderhughes’ full-length recording debut draws from the church, cabaret and contemporary jazz to look deep into the human condition.
Where some artists turned to anger in response to the presidency of Donald Trump, Pinderhughes takes a far more subtle approach on “Kingly,” mixing Marcus Gilmore’s darting drums with Levon’s wobbly vocal and his own propulsive piano part to conjure a jarring environment where some are still “in love with the king,” despite his appearance as “a self-made cliché.”
It’s in the combination of elements where Grief — which evolved from Pinderhughes’ multimedia piece The Healing Project — truly succeeds, sounding like a pocket symphony on “Holding Cell” as he intermingles electronics, Levon’s highly vernacular delivery and strings, and on “Masculinity,” the work’s multifaceted masterpiece. With the opening line, “Young man, come down from that tower/ It isn’t yet your time,” Pinderhughes establishes a compelling narrative on “Masculinity.”
Although Pinderhughes’ writing and Levon’s flexible voice create a sense of tenderness on this powerful debut, it’s tenderness with a core of steel.
Grief: The Cry; Kingly; Election Time; Holding Cell; Internal Geographies; Time Loop; Masculinity; Rise Up; Breath; Grief; Refrain For Keith Lamar; Stare Straight Ahead; Hope Intro; Hope; Hum/A Prayer. (45:37)
Personnel: Samora Pinderhughes, piano, vocals; Nio Levon, Jehbreal Jackson, vocals; Elena Pinderhughes, flute; Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone; Lucas Pino, tenor saxophone; Brad Allen Williams, guitar; The Argus Quartet (Clara Kim, Giancarlo Latta, violin; Maren Rothfritz, viola; Audrey Chen, cello), strings; Clovis Nicolas, bass; Boom Bishop, electric bass; Marcus Gilmore, drums.
Ordering Info: ropeadope.com
