Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Josephine Davies: How Can We Wake?

Josephine Davies: How Can We Wake?

By Chris May
September 24, 2020
View read count

Compared to many of the other premier-league bands on the new London jazz scene, tenor saxophonist and composer

Josephine Davies

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Josephine Davies' Satori has attracted relatively little noise. There has been high praise from specialist critics, but little of the social media ballyhoo that has surrounded, for instance, bands led by fellow tenors

Nubya Garcia

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nubya Garcia and

Binker Golding

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Binker Golding (who deserve all the praise they get). This may be because, unlike many of its contemporaries, Satori's style, though rhythmically rich, is not infused with dancefloor-friendly grooves: Davies looks instead to Zen philosophy for part of her inspiration.

But make no mistake, Satori is among the best young bands in London and How Can We Wake?, its third album on Whirlwind since 2017, is among 2020's most striking releases.

A semi-free group which eschews harmonic structures but is laden with exalted melodicism, Satori is, as it were, yin to the yang of the similarly constituted

Binker and Moses

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Binker and Moses, Binker Golding's duo with drummer

Moses Boyd

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Moses Boyd. Binker & Moses is visceral and loud and edgy. Satori is cerebral and nuanced and meditative. Which is not to say Satori lacks sinew. Davies, for a start, has an exhilarating grasp of mid and low-end multiphonics, broken notes and other tonal distortions which touch on the corporeal without severing her leaning towards the ethereal (although one track, "Klesha: affliction," gets close to Binker & Moses' trademark turbulence). It is hard to nail Davies' tenor influences down but

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins sounds like he is in there, particularly so on "Mudita: joy," the album's midway point.

Davies is deep into Eastern philosophy, but the listener will not have to share that interest, or even be aware of it, in order to enjoy Satori. All that is needed is a willingness to slow down a little, savour Davies' seraphic lyricism, and enjoy the interaction between her, acoustic bassist

Dave Whitford

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Whitford and drummer

James Maddren

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">James Maddren. How Can We Wake?, beautifully recorded live at London's Oxford Tavern and Total Refreshment Centre on consecutive dates in January 2020, will repay the investment tenfold.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Ananda: bliss; Sutra 1; Duhkha: pervasive dissatisfaction; Sutra 2; Nirodha: the possibility of liberation; Mudita: joy; Daya: compassion; Sutra 3; Klesha: affliction; Ananda: bliss (reprise).

Personnel

Josephine Davies

saxophone

Dave Whitford

bass, acoustic

James Maddren

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Josephine Davies: tenor saxophone (1-6, 9, 10), soprano saxophone (7, 8).

Album information

Title: How Can We Wake? | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Meet Pat and Mike: The Jazz Bastards
< Previous

Blue Has A Range
Next >

Josephine Davies Concerts

Oct 16 Thu

Josephine Davies’ Satori

Crookes Social Club
Sheffield, UK

Oct 22 Wed

Josephine Davies' "weatherwards"

Stoke-By-Nayland Hotel
Leavenheath, UK

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.