Country : United States Label : International Anthem Genres and styles : Electronic / Free Jazz Year : 2020

Heritage of the Invisible II

· by Steve Naud

Last March, Irreversible Entanglements released their second album, the solid Who Sent You?, an incandescent jazz opus whose revolutionary tone impressed widely. Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes are the trumpeter and drummer, respectively, of the band, with poet Camae Ayewa, better known as Moor Mother, at the forefront. The pair’s new duo album, Heritage of the Invisible II, follows a first offering recorded before a live audience in Panama and released in 2014, one year before the creation of Irreversible Entanglements.

We might have expected Navarro and Holmes to deliver a collection of improvised duets made according to the rules of the art, but from the very first bars of “Initial Meditation”, the opening track, we realise that the pair have no use for tradition. Abrasive electronic interventions and vocal samples in Spanish punctuate a demented drum solo. Throughout the album, Navarro uses his trumpet as much as he does Moog Grandmother and Roland Juno 106 synthesizers, while the indomitable Holmes unleashes furious rhythmic storms. After the Latin flavours brought by Ricardo de León’s mejoranera (a Panamanian guitar) on “Pueblo,” the smooth voice of singer Brigitte Zozula provides an interesting contrast to the virtuoso explosions of the percussionist. Next, “M.O.N.K. (Most Only Never Knew)”, a bluesy piano solo performed by keyboardist Nick Sanders, offers us a haven of serenity for a few minutes before the duo returns to unleash “NAVARROHOLMES”, a free-jazz tornado to the sound of which Navarro blows all the horns of Jericho while Holmes, armed with his drums, knocks down city walls. Then the hostilities come to an astonishing end with a remix by Madam Data, taking the music of the tandem onto the dancefloor to celebrate victory.

With this album, Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes launch a call to arms as powerful as the music they create in Irreversible Entanglements.

Latest 360 Content

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Subscribe to our newsletter