Guitarist and composer Reza Khota returns with his quartet for their second album, Liminal, which launches on November 25 in Cape Town.
Liminal is described as being between two states - Khota draws heavily on this idea, both philosophically and musically, on the album. He is part of the new wave of jazz musicians that dedicate themselves to prioritising music that asks questions central to post-apartheid SA.
Joining Khota in the quartet is Shane Cooper (bass, Fender Rhodes and synths), Jonno Sweetman (drums) and Buddy Wells (sax). They share a unique chemistry and move with ease into new musical territory. The album is the result of writing over the past three years.
"Rhythmically, I have incorporated my affinity for Indian classical rhythms and beat cycles as well as my love for Ethiopian jazz, Malian blues and Nigerian afrobeat. As a band we tend to zone in on the micro-rhythmic and polyrhythmic interplay that occurs, especially in the improvised sections," Khota says.
Cooper is a close collaborator. His influence on recent project Mabuta and as electronic producer Card on Spokes can be felt throughout the album, which moves in an electronic direction.
Khota explains: "Shane and I share a mutual interest in electronic music, especially analogue sounds, early synths, tape echoes, Fender Rhodes and more." The rich textures of Sweetman's drumming add further layers to the instantly recognisable tones of Wells's saxophone.
LISTEN | Deep Haze from Reza Khota's new album Liminal
Khota has the ability to move between complicated Indian classical rhythmic principles, African groove tradition and jazz improvisation. Hence the album places itself between moments of quiet and intense groove.
"After writing these tunes and figuring out titles for them, I began seeing how the idea of liminality was common to the different titles.
"In conjunction with the artwork by Grant Jurius, we began exploring themes of the subaltern - people excluded from the system, refugees or those who toil for the riches of others.
"With the relentless pursuits of extreme capitalism and neo-liberalism, there seems no end to the growing chasm between those that have and those that don't have," he says.
The writing explores the states of nature and politics. Album closer Ghosts is a four-movement suite that emerges as a reflection on the idea of haunting. It alludes to the ghosts of Marikana miners.
• 'Liminal' is available on all digital platforms...