Singer Dwight Trible is slowly becoming a known name on the jazz scene, but also, his name is starting to crop up elsewhere in the music world. His intricate voice, that some have described as a cross between two other incredible jazz singers, Leon Thomas and Gregory Porter is probably the reason he has had a lot of collaborations recently.
From the big names of jazz like Pharaoh Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, and Charles Lloyd, through rising jazz stars like Kamasi Washington, to collaborations with Carlos Nino, J Dilla, and Ninja Tune band Life Force Trio. So it is no wonder that Inspirations, his sixth solo album proper is creating a bit of a buzz in the jazz world.
For the album, Trible made a cross-Atlantic collaboration with the British trumpet player and Gondwana label owner Matthew Halsall, the album itself being issued on Gondwana.
When you look at the songs chosen for the album, like Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Need Now”, “I Love Paris” or “Black Is The Colour”, you might shake your head, expecting the title of the album to represent a series of ‘standard’ version of some often overused songs.
But Trible and Halsall, who along with his own participation has brought along some stellar musicians who record for his label, have transformed these songs into true spiritual jazz gems. The arrangements are brilliantly thought out and would be quite fitting in the program of all the spiritual jazz purveyors Trible has played with, whether it is Pharaoh Sanders, Charles Lloyd or Kamasi Washington.
The musical accent throughout is on Trible’s great voice which gives all these true and tried numbers another dimension, while the excellent backup never tries to overshadow him at any moment.
The overall feel of the need for spiritual peace, something that is fully in accord with Trible’s personal social commitments gives the album yet another dimension. There, the choice of a Manchester label and musicians and inclusion of Cole Porter’s “I Love Paris” get their full meaning. An album worth anybody’s time, whether they are into jazz or not.
