How far has Chicago’s Angel Bat Dawid come since the noodlings of a clarinet on “Transition East,” a track off a 7”, barely hinting at what’s to come? We’ll find out in what’s shaping up to be a milestone album from the artist, Requiem For Jazz, due late March.

The title itself speaks to the raw ambition, but already seasoned talent that’s ready to make her mark in a contemporary jazz landscape that can’t decide whether it’s living or dead. The new album is part mourning, part absolute destruction of the received shibboleths of the genre.

The scope of Angel Bat Dawid’s vision was evident in 2020’s LIVE. The live album cut across the grain of America’s racial politics. The music itself was extraordinary: a fiery conflagration of rhythm and blues, gospel, jazz, noise, spoken word fed into a blender. The message, on the other hand, must have been a little overlooked in the context and confines of a European tour. Europeans love to talk about America’s dysfunctional discourse on race without dwelling too long on their own troubled histories.

With Requiem For Jazz, Angel Bat Dawid looks to combine the fire of her live performance with the wizardry and forethought belonging to studio production. Our highlighted track “RECORDARE – Recall the Joy” is a promising early return. An ode to black joy in a time that is obsessed with black misery, and one piece to a larger puzzle that will have to wait until late March to put in place. Available via International Anthem.

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