Jasmine Myra is a UK-based jazz musician who continues her hot streak with the sultry and sophisticated sounds on her sophomore album. Rising sports some more subdued compositions, and they are quite different in texture and timbre than her 2022 release. We spoke to Myra last year to talk all about Horizons and had such a great time chatting about her interests and background.
It’s been just about two months since Rising was released, and Jasmine has recently finished a pretty robust touring schedule, and yet she’s already got the itch to start work on her next release. But for now, let’s talk about this one which is quite the listening experience. With even more poise and control than Horizons, Myra’s music and compositions are as relaxed as they are spellbinding. The sax, strings, drums and harp make this a dream you don’t want to wake from.
There’s almost three albums worth of content across these half-dozen tracks. The titular track, “Rising” has wonderful harmony and rhythm that show complexity from the first few seconds. There’s a break near the five minute mark where the drums, harp, and piano go all out in what seem like interweaving solos. Wow!
Next is “Still Waters” where Myra takes the lead with her saxophone dancing with and between the other instruments. The string quartet helps elevate the textures and there’s a dazzling saxophone run near the end as, forgive the pun, the waters get pretty rough, but things quiet down before a sublime fade out. This track showcases Myra’s skill on the saxophone; she truly has become Lisa Simpson.
Next is “Knowingness” which, as best as I can describe, feels like a jazzy sonic pile driver. The deep drumming persistence backs the flavorful harp and keyboard. Top that off with a flighty saxophone and this conjures visions of a star athlete taking a deep breath (metaphorically as well as a literal sustain in the track) before showcasing spectacular skills to the fans. It has quite a powerful lending.
Side B has the most unique track. In the first third, “Glimmers” seems like a continuation of the sounds heard on the Horizons album. Then it goes into some very clear hip-hop influences where the bass, the piano and the drums all have a notable attitude. While they don’t have much in common with Digable Planets’ “Rebirth of Slick”, it comes across just as cool, and should you find yourself quietly whispering, “Damn!“, then the track did its job.
While listening, the last two tracks don’t exactly feel aligned…but they are. In our conversation, Myra tells us they were originally one long composition. She broke them into two so that “From Embers” would have a lead-in atmosphere that feels like the start of a journey (something this whole album embodies). It certainly recalls those film scores that have a “wrap it up” style to their music as it builds to a climax. The top of the peak, so to speak, is “How Tall the Mountains” which is more of a question than a statement as the track is about discovery and weaving through the unknown. The duet of the sax and bass are a highlight for sure and the track is a powerhouse to close out the album.
As a bonus to this review we had an hour-long In our conversation with Jasmine all about the album. In our session, she talks about needing open space to be able to create. It’s a theme brought up many times and for good reason: forcing creativity rarely yields the desired product or satisfaction. You need to let go and allow the music come to you. Now that this is out, Myra’s pair of albums deserve a place on your shelves or in your digital library…although we prefer vinyl. Enjoy!
And don’t forget to check out Jasmine’s stuff on Bandcamp or follow her on Instagram. It’ll be a while until she gets back on the road, but if you can see her band perform live, do it!!!
