By Ayana Contreras | Published September 2021
Baca Sewa’s title refers to Cochemea’s pre-colonial family name. “Sewa” also means “flower” in Yaqui, his people’s native tongue. And flowers also play an important role in Yaqui culture, so it’s likely no coincidence that Baca Sewa radiates like a blossoming flower from beginning to end.
Picking up where Cochemea’s debut album, All My Relations, left off, Vol. II: Baca Sewa is a further melding of electric saxophone wails and echo-heavy percussive grooves. Specters of such psychedelic players as Eddie Harris hang like incense smoke throughout. Standout tracks include “Burning Plain,” “Curandera” and “Mimbreños.”
Some songs in the set feel like a welcome breeze on an August afternoon, and others lend themselves to taking a cruise in a two-tone brown Eldorado Biarritz. “Chito’s Song” is one of those jams. Cochemea’s chameleonic talent is in his ability to toggle back and forth effortlessly between spiritual notions and stone-cold grooves. Consequently, Baca Sewa is the rare album that services both carnal and mystical sensibilities with ease.
Vol. II: Baca Sewa: Baca Sewa: Burning Plain; Tukaria; Mimbreños; Chito’s Song; Nahsuareo Bwikam; Black Pearl; Peace Prayer; Curandera; Baca Sewa (Song); Baca Sewa (Chant). (33:53)
Personnel: Cochemea Gastelum, alto saxophone, electric saxophone, flutes; Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, congas, bombo; Brian Wolfe, bass drum, bombo, surdo; Neil Ochoa, conga, bongos, repinique; Giancarlo Luiggi, shekere; Alex Chakour, bass, marimba, kalimba, bombo; Victor Axelrod, electric and electronic pianos, kalimba.
Ordering Info: daptonerecords.com
