Kazemde George: I Insist
Greenleaf Music

As a title, I Insist recalls Max Roach's 1960 protest album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, but Kazemde George's debut as a leader is neither as militant nor as politically charged as the drummer's. It is, however, an extremely poised and assertive statement by the Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist, not to mention an exceptionally well-crafted collection of contemporary jazz compositions and performances.

As a writer and player, George impresses. Though he can be voluble, rarely does he shower the listener with volleys of notes; instead, each solo is methodically shaped and each choice thoughtfully considered, and melodies are articulated with clarity and embellished tastefully. Regardless of the style tackled, the performances are delivered with assurance by him, Sami Stevens (vocals), Isaac Wilson (Wurlitzer, piano), Tyrone Allen II (bass), and Adam Arruda (drums). All are fully locked into the leader's vision, and the music swings confidently, whether it be ballad or burner. A fabulous tag-team of invention, flow, and energy, Allen II and Arruda keep the music ever-buoyant, Wilson's Wurlitzer adds a groovy funkiness to the music, and Stevens, George's romantic partner, enhances the album with a sultry delivery well-attuned to the material. Certainly part of the reason why the playing's tight has to do with the fact that all of the material was thoroughly road-tested before the studio date. Further to that, the session took place after a week's run of shows, so the band was primed to lay it down.

While George has issued electronic beat tapes under the KG,B name, little trace of it emerges on the album, even if one tune, “Haiti,” appeared in its original form as an electronic beat at his KG,B Soundcloud page. Conspicuous by comparison, however, in the music's range is his personal background. Berkeley, California-raised, he was born to Caribbean immigrant parents—a Jamaican mother and father from Guyana—and after completing a bachelor's degree in neurobiology and a master's in jazz composition studied music and Afro-Cuban percussion in Havana for nearly a year. Immersion in the music of the African diaspora and the sounds and cultures of Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, and Panama has profoundly influenced the music George makes, evidence of which runs throughout the album, on “Haiti” and “Understanding” most explicitly. In his words, “Music tells a story, and people carry their culture with them.”

On the inner sleeve, he cites John Coltrane and João Gilberto as influences (J Dilla too), and there are definitely moments where echoes of both emerge, the former especially. In the title track, “This Spring,” and “Balance,” the outfit drives with an intensity that suggests albums like Giant Steps and Blue Train were deeply absorbed along the way. Less frenetic is “Coasts,” which engages for its bluesy swing and warmth, with Wilson augmenting the leader's smooth tenor and the responsive rhythm section serving up a tasty walking pulse. Both “I Insist” and “Parkside” push beyond nine minutes, but the playing's so engaging they never feel overlong or played out.

November 2021