Learning Through Listening: Shabaka Hutchings Favourite LPs | Page 15 of 15 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

I see her in a similar light to the way in which I see Don Cherry, as a pure musician, but this only started after hearing this album though. She’s not singing on it at all and up until then, I’d only known and loved her as a singer. I didn’t realise that she was also an instrumentalist. So I listened to this album, and I thought ‘Holy shit! This woman is not just an instrumentalist, she’s a killer instrumentalist!’ She has an actual vision of music that has references to people like Sun Ra, and other people from this side of jazz that hasn’t necessarily been that widely explored yet. It’s not one of these orthodox albums. Listening to Ocotea you can feel her having been in the studio, quite simply creating. I’ve tried to learn from the free attitude I hear in this album. It feels like she went into the studio with the intention of giving us her creation, and that’s just so motivating. Having the courage to do an album unlike anything you’ve presented before is easier said than done. I’m known as a saxophone player, so then why should I work on a project based an entirely different context of music, completely different to what people see me as and expect me to produce. To present an album like that takes courage that as an artist; I’m still trying to strive towards.

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