In a powerful statement of artistic vision, bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh has delivered one of the year's most compelling jazz recordings. Strange Heavens, her latest album on the revered ECM label, is not merely a collection of tracks but a profound, cohesive narrative told through sound.
The record's immense strength lies in its stellar trio. Oh is joined by two of modern jazz's most revered figures: the trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, whose playing is both achingly lyrical and fiercely exploratory, and the drummer Tyshawn Sorey, a master of texture and rhythmic subtlety. This is a meeting of true musical equals, a conversation of the highest order.
A Deep and Introspective Journey
The mood throughout is often contemplative and spacious, a hallmark of the ECM aesthetic, but it is far from background music. Tracks like the haunting 'Circular Cities' and the tense 'Respite' draw the listener into a deeply introspective world. Oh's bass provides a resonant, melodic anchor, around which Akinmusire's trumpet soars and whispers, often within the same phrase.
Sorey's contribution cannot be overstated. He avoids predictable rhythms, instead painting with percussive colour and implied pulse, creating a sense of suspended time that is both unsettling and beautiful. His interplay with Oh is telepathic, a complex dance of intuition and precision.
More Than a Showcase, a Collective Vision
While the technical prowess on display is breathtaking, Strange Heavens never feels like a mere showcase for virtuosity. This is music with emotional weight and intellectual rigour. The album's centrepiece, a reimagining of the traditional 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus', is transformed into a solemn, searching meditation, highlighting the trio's ability to invest familiar material with entirely new meaning.
Oh has cemented her position as a leading composer and bandleader of her generation. With Strange Heavens, she has crafted a work of rare beauty and depth—an album that demands and rewards close, repeated listening. It is a quiet storm, a masterclass in collective improvisation, and undoubtedly one of the essential jazz releases of the year.
