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Emma Rawicz: Incantation

By Chris May
May 14, 2022
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Incantation is the debut album from British tenor saxophonist Emma Rawicz, whose playing has a degree of poise that is not often found in a teenager (she is nineteen years old) on their inaugural outing. It is not unprecedented, however, as we are reminded by the case of drummer

Tony Williams

drums
1945 - 1997

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Williams, seventeen years old and brimming with confidence when he joined

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' band.

Anyway, Rawicz, like Williams, shows every sign of knowing where she wants to go with her music and, mostly, she gets there.

Her playing, like every tenor saxophonist since the 1960s, has traces of

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane, but more evident are those of

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon and

Joe Henderson

saxophone
1937 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Henderson (who, coincidentally, was a primary influence on another British tenor player,

Nubya Garcia

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Nubya Garcia). Add to that mix an empathy with fusion and groove, a splash of Afro-Cuban, a kicking young keyboards, bass and drums trio, and mentor and fifth band member, guitarist

Ant Law

guitar, electric
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Ant Law, and you have lift off.

All the material was written by Rawicz. "I wrote 'Voodoo,' the first track on the album, based on a crazy, abstract, colourful piece of art," she says. "I just experimented with sound and found the composition out of it. Then I chose other words based on this theme—like incantation, omen, wishbone, etc.—and used those words as prompts for composition."

Rawicz also plays soprano saxophone and flute and sings on the album. Remarkably, although a musician from childhood, she only discovered jazz aged fifteen and took up the saxophone a year later. You would not guess that listening to Incantation. Rawicz is a name to look out for.

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Track Listing

Voodoo; Omen; Intro To Rune; Incantation; Orison; Intro To Vera; Vera; Intro To Mantra; Mantra; Wishbone.

Personnel

Emma Rawicz

saxophone

Ant Law

guitar, electric

Scottie Thompson

keyboards

Hugo Piper

bass

Finn Genockey

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Emma Rawicz: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, voice; Finn Genockey: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Incantation | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced

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