About

Pressed by Les Disques Garcia, France. Jackets made in Estonia.
12" standard-weight black vinyl in a classic old style tip-on gatefold record jacket.

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From the same producer who brought you Brahja, Kadef, EEG Coherence, Watermelancholia and Nebulizer, Infinity Zero offers yet another journey through shimmering soundscapes, soulful expression and rhythmical trance.

“Modern jazz multi-instrumentalist, Devin Brahja Waldman, is an underrated force to be reckoned with, within the international alternative jazz scene. Brahja (the band) is an exemplary collective of musicians, all who fall in-line with modern jazz philosophy and have reflected it with absolute modern jazz perfection.” - TONE Scott, Goldmine Magazine

Devin Brahja Waldman is a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer living in New York City. He has collaborated with artists and bands such as Anne Waldman, William Parker, Patti Smith, Malcolm Mooney (of Can), Abiodun Oyewole (of Last Poets), Thurston Moore, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Nadah El Shazly, Hamid Drake, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, MoE, Land of Kush, and Yoshiko Chuma; and has co-founded the groups Brahja, Kadef, EEG Coherence, Notable Deaths, Apophasis, and Radical Reversal, a band and initiative with poet Randall Horton which installs music studios. — (via Label)

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Devin Brahja Waldman, New York based saxophonist and composer offers those inhabitants of the universe who care to listen, a consciousness expanding and spiritual invitation to hook up their left and right hemispheres for a journey to unify the intuitive heart with the logical mind. The current incarnation of Brahja features Waldman (sax, keyboard, synth) with co-composer Richard Maye (beats on MPC 3000) Janice Lowe (flute and vocals) Georgia Wartel Collins (acoustic bass) Alexis Marcelo (piano) Watson (bass clarinet).

Brahja appears to operate as a collaborative project, reincarnating under differing guises on RR Gems since 2019. Band leader Devin Brahja Waldman has spoken music from a young age, appearing on stage as a child with his aunt, poet Anne Waldman. This early exposure to words and music encouraged an eclectic creativity and later collaboration with many, from Meredith Monk and Laurie Anderson to Patti Smith and Thurston Moore. Like all good homes his childhood abode contained records by the likes of Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Yusef Lateef, Thelonious Monk and Roland Kirk. When his father wasn’t giving him drum lessons or supplying Hendrix records, Waldman toyed with a plastic sax, now regretfully lost, it inspired much musical experimentation. Soon he graduated to a metal instrument and became fascinated by John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and Wayne Shorter. Coming of age in the 80s and 90s, plenty of other grungy excitement and heavy beats were on offer, Nirvana and copious amounts of hip hop were interspersed by albums like Headhunters, In Silent Way and Thriller. With Paul Bley as a neighbour and mentor it wasn’t long before a cosmic curiosity regarding Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane was piqued. Waldman was also fortunate to have contact with a musical lineage that goes way back to the beginning of recorded jazz, Al Gallodoro, saxophonist and clarinetist active in big bands from the 1920s until his death 2008 was also a mentor.

It’s this vast musical universe which INFINITY ZERO seeks to merge with. Waldman confesses to a ‘loop of excitement and doubt’ during the record’s mixing process. And a nanosecond of doubt confronts me at the prospect of the title track’s 16:00 of loops but the vintage vibes so beloved of Dr Dre and J Dilla courtesy of Maye’s MPC 3000 soon reassure. The repeat is joyfully interjected by Marcelo’s piano, Waldman’s alto and Watson’s bass clarinet. Musical genres could easily collide here but the palette and aesthetic are harmonised around the beats while supremely soulful vocalisations by Janice Lowe have a unity of purpose with Waldman’s alto. It’s music to move to, creating an intense euphoria that’s compelling and involving. The song fades to the sound of a record’s locked groove. On ‘Do You Want Your Soul’ bass loops and bass clarinet motif integrate as Lowe poses the question. The mellow vibes and layered vocals of ‘Electrolytes (We Just Want To Live)’ usher in ‘777 For All of Humankind’ a near perfect alignment of beats and breath, Waldman’s alto agility syncs beautifully and hypnotically with the vocal track. INFINITY ZERO is highly energising and with the added hope of a promised spiritual awakening it’s a fine way to begin 2026. – (via UK Vibe)

Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Infinity Zero
A2 Do You Want Your Soul
B1 Electrolytes (We Just Want To Live)
B2 777 For All Humankind

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Label: RR GEMS
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Reissued: 2018 / Originally Released: 1978
Genre: Jazz
Style: Spiritual Jazz, Avant-garde Jazz

File under: Modern / Future Jazz
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