Katalyst, Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Katalyst JID013 (LP)

The 13th volume in Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s Jazz Is Dead series offers a significant change in the label’s aesthetic. Its first wave of releases focused on re-engaging American and Brazilian jazz legends of the 1970s, wedding their pioneering jazz-funk and samba fusions to modern hip-hop and jazz grooves. The Katalyst Collective is an Inglewood-based ensemble founded in 2014, composed of younger contemporary producers, composers, and session musicians.
Katalyst JID013 is a welcome shift in direction for the label that offers a fresher approach than some of its earlier entries. This set is abundant in collective creativity, musical imagination, and killer instinct.