On his fourth full-length, 2021's genre-melding
Bring Backs
, British pianist and rapper
Alfa Mist
showcases his vivid, enveloping mix of jazz, R&B, classical, and hip-hop. The album follows 2019's
Structuralism
, which appeared on
Mist
's own
Sekito
label. For
,
moved to the
Anti-
label, a shift that finds him further expanding his evocative brand of organic, hip-hop jazz. A largely self-taught pianist, the East London-reared
plays in a laid-back, harmonically nuanced style informed by '70s jazz and fusion, '90s hip-hop, and modern electronic production.
brings this cross-pollinated aesthetic to
, crafting tracks that feel inspired by vintage
Lonnie Liston-Smith
or
George Duke
recordings, but with a keen, contemporary ear. Helping him achieve this vibrant, earthy sound are his bandmates, including
Jamie Leeming
(guitar),
Kaya Thomas-Dyke
(bass and vocals),
Jamie Houghton
(drums), and
Johnny Woodham
(trumpet). The opening "Teki" is a languid fusion number built around a sparkling guitar arpeggio that
Leeming
expands with a knotty,
Pat Metheny
-esque solo. Equally compelling is "Run Outs," a dreamy, trap beat groover punctuated by
's astral keyboard flourishes and space alien sax and trumpet lines. No less expansive is the otherworldly "Mind the Gap," a woozy slow-jam rap duet between
and
Lex Amor
that brings to mind '90s, "Rebirth of the Slick"-era
Digable Planets
. More grounded is "People," a lyrical and folky R&B ballad in which
Thomas-Dyke
's yearning vocals are framed by woody guitar, percussion, and orchestral accents. Strings, flutes, and other classical sounds pop-up throughout the album, as on "Last Card (Bumper Cars)," a lush, midtempo number whose reedy, trumpet and sax harmonies recall
Gil Evans
' work with
Miles Davis
.
's classical inclinations take full form on "Once a Year," a brief, yet languorous chamber piece that, as with all of
, underlines his wide-ranging taste. ~ Matt Collar