Beautifully meditative music from Alabaster DePlume – a set that brings together work from a variety
of recorded projects from the past decade or so – finally getting full exposure in this Transatlantic collaboration between Chicago's International Anthem label and London's Total Refreshment Centre! The
sound is a great illustration
of the genre-crossing modes that have been going on in both scenes – as Alabaster's music is definitely beyond easy description or
definition, and comes across in a way that's as personal as it is collaborative – since DePlume works with a whole host
of different musicians on the recordings, mixing flute, percussion, strings, keyboards, and other elements together in a way that follows a spiritual legacy from the more spacey side
of Alice Coltrane, to the west coast experiments
of Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, to the changes taking place on the planet at present. Alabaster plays tenor and guitar, and vocalizes slightly – but never really sings – and titles include "Why Buzzardman Why", "Not My Ask", "Whisky Story Time", "If You're Sure You Want To", "What's Missing", and "Song
Of The Foundling".
(Jazz, Out Sound)