Chant For Our Planet
Zoho, 2022
8/10
Listen to Chant For Our Planet
The Italian saxophonist and composer Marco Pignataro brings along a first rate cast of musicians for this project, where John Patitucci (bass), Joe Lovano (saxophone), Terri Lyne Carrington (drums) and Chico Pinheiro (guitar), as well as the rising talents of Anastassiya Petrova (piano) and Nadia Washington (vocals) are in attendance.
“Suite Terra-Mare-Cielo (Earth-Sea-Sky)” opens the listen with 3 segments, where Pignataro’s soulful and rich sax playing is met with clever bass playing from Patitucci and gorgeous wordless vocals from Washington. Deeper into the movements, Carrington’s acrobatic drumming and Petrova’s elegant keys take focus, as grooves arrive in spades.
Halfway through, “Moon Threads” spotlights the mature keys, as stirring moments from Pignataro’s brass and Pinheiro’s guitar make an impression, while “As It Should Be” benefits much from Washington’s expressive voice amid cautious song craft that does get more intense, and embraces blues nods in its adventurous jazz formula.
Landing near the end, the thumping “On Irene’s Path” recruits a dizzying energy that parallels the unpredictable nature of hurricane Irene, and the brief title track exits the listen with Washington’s rapping skills front and center alongside Carrington’s hip-hop drumming as they address the stability of the planet for future generations.
A listen that’s all substance, Pignataro and company mesh jazz and social change in an inspiring gesture that’s progressive musically and lyrically about as important as any issue facing the planet today.
Travels well with: Doug MacDonald- I’ll See You In My Dreams; Roger Lewis- Alright!