Emma Rawicz: Inkyra

"You can never know enough in jazz," says saxophonist Emma Rawicz. born in 2002, she has been one of the most respected and sought-after European jazz musicians of her generation since her ACT debut Chroma. For Emma Rawicz, jazz is above all a never-ending source of creativity. She says: "There is always something to discover. While you're practicing, so many new things are being developed." Emma Rawicz is an obsessive worker. During the coronavirus crisis, she began documenting her practice routines on Instagram. Tens of thousands of people have been following her "becoming" ever since. She travels all over Europe, plays in the biggest concert halls, headlines major festivals, constantly writes new music, leads her own Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra and was recently included in the BBC's circle of New Generation Artists - the country's absolute premier league across all genres. The Guardian states: "Emma Rawicz has taken off in a sprint - and the warp speed of her development shows no sign of slowing down." In this development, Emma Rawicz never chooses the easy path - neither for herself nor for her audience. And she always does so with a smile, one that is transferred to the audience. She is not interested in confrontation, but in discovering and experiencing new, unheard music together, beyond the usual clichés. The album "Inkyra", recorded by the sextet Gareth Lockrane (flute), David Preston (guitar), Scottie Thompson (keys), Kevin Glasgow (electric bass) and Jamie Murray (drums), breaks boundaries in many respects. It is bursting with energy, ideas, colors and rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Rawicz himself impresses with a tone that is as weighty as it is agile, a highly musical intellect coupled with great sensuality and a feel for shades, textures and nuances. Rawicz & Band tried out the new music for the first time in a small London nightclub - with no seats and in front of a very mixed audience. This is also a statement: it's not about finger exercises, but about taking the listeners with them, moving them - inwardly and outwardly. Emma Rawicz says about the development of Inkyra: "The album means a lot to me. It's something special, I've been playing with this band for more than three years. We have worked very hard on this music. After the first concert last summer, we all invested a lot of time, practiced and developed the program in workshops. So everyone has left their mark on it." The music's influences come from many sources - including some that you wouldn't immediately expect: "Some of the inspiration for the music comes from Joni Mitchell. That sounds strange at first, because the songs don't sound like singer/songwriters. Nevertheless, I had immersed myself in her music before I composed the program. I'm fascinated by her way of structuring melodies, her use of harmony, special tunings and unusual chords that you don't know from jazz. This influenced me on the piano and in turn shaped my work as a composer. This has given rise to my own identity. I was also guided by the lyrics, which in turn appear in the titles of the pieces and also inspired the imaginary name of the album." Musically, "Inkyra" sounds at least as colorful as its predecessor "Chroma" (Greek for color and a reference to Emma's special perception as a synesthete), which was recorded with a different band. The anthemic intro, for example, is rooted in the spiritual sound of the sixties. There are dense, towering pads that reach into prog rock, as in "Moondrawn (Dreaming)", or references to Brazilian rhythmic roots, as in "Marshmallow Tree". Some tracks sound like Anima Rising, as if not just a sextet but an entire jazz orchestra were playing; others - like "Time, And Other Thieves" - sound like a mixture of heavy indie beats and shimmering psychedelia, especially thanks to Gareth Lockrane's far-flung flute. The album feels a little like a spaceship with which Emma Rawicz - who currently lives in Berlin after her London years - is heading in new directions: "Sometimes it felt like we were leaving orbit, boundless in our improvisations. As if we could just take off and leave the rest behind. It's like a cosmic journey for me. We don't know where we'll end up - only that we'll arrive back together."