Wisdom of Elders

Recorded in a single day in Johannesburg, 'Wisdom of Elders' unites bandleader Shabaka Hutchings with a collective of South African musicians to create a potent fusion of contemporary London jazz and pan-African sounds. The album is built upon a foundation of dual drummers and percussion, creating layered, hypnotic grooves that blend spiritual jazz with Nguni rhythms, blues, and Caribbean calypso influences. Serving as a nine-part sonic meditation, the work channels the influence of township jazz from the apartheid era, with Hutchings' tenor saxophone and Siyabonga Mthembu's vocals exploring themes of ancestry, history, and diasporic connection.