Jaimie Branch is an exciting new voice in modern jazz with a trumpet style that evokes past masters from Lester Bowie (Art Ensemble of Chicago) to Don Cherry.
Her new album, Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, presents a kaleidoscopic variety of styles yet has an engaging structure throughout that's almost cinematic in its scope.
Far from a repertory traditionalist, Branch's music is unmistakable contemporary. This music could not have been composed in the 20th Century, yet she deftly avoids falling into traps of catering to fads - no hip-hop rapping or Autotuned vocals.
Prayer for Amerikkka, Pt. 1 & 2 speaks directly to our current social and political situation, and may well become as much an anthem for our time as Bob Dylan's protest songs of the 60s or Charles Mingus' outcries against racism.
It has literally been decades since I've been this excited about a new voice in jazz music.
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