Country : United States Label : Anti- Genres and styles : Avant-Garde / Experimental / Contemporary / Free Jazz / Hip Hop / Noise / R&B Year : 2022

Moor Mother – Jazz Codes

· by Varun Swarup

Operating under the alias of Moor Mother, Camae Ayewa has since the 2010s been producing a prolific body of work as a poet, scholar, musician, artist, and activist. Her latest offering, Jazz Codes, is a kaleidoscopic and comprehensive musical document that speaks to the genius of black artistry in both the 20th and 21st century.

As a companion album to her 2021 release, Black Encyclopedia of the Air, which marked one of her more elaborate works to date, Moor Mother continues in expounding upon her distinct Afrofuturist aesthetic, what she calls ‘Black Quantum Futurism’. It is evident then that Jazz Codes is a means to an end, something of an anthropological undertaking for Moor Mother, who offers us a chance to rethink the past, the present, and the future through the vehicle of black music.

While this is a cerebral and cryptic album, one that rewards repeated listening, it is still accessible enough. Certainly, at first listen, Jazz Codes can play out something like a fever dream. Olof Meander’s production is airy and dense, without much earth on which to tread, and Moor Mother’s gentle but firm slam poetry style guides the listener through a sprawling collection of titles against the backdrop of sampled textures featuring spiritual saxophone runs, lush harp passages, droning trumpet lines, and intimate voice memos.

As genre-defying as Moor Mother’s work is, it is thoroughly grounded in the continuum of black music, and in drawing from the wellsprings of her musical ancestry she has created a veritable tapestry of R&B, hip-hop, folk, blues, and of course, jazz. As if to make reference to communal aspects of this lineage, there are a dizzying amount of collaborators involved in this project, and they have contributed to yet another masterwork of experimental and conscious hip-hop in Moor Mother’s oeuvre.

Latest 360 Content

Suoni: The Spiritual Quest, The End in Transcendence

Suoni: The Spiritual Quest, The End in Transcendence

FIJM | Thundercat, A Feline on The Loose

FIJM | Thundercat, A Feline on The Loose

FIJM | Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston Exposed

FIJM | Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston Exposed

FIJM | Branford Marsalis Among Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes… Live!

FIJM | Branford Marsalis Among Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes… Live!

FIJM | About Derrick Hodge’s Idea of the Color of Noize

FIJM | About Derrick Hodge’s Idea of the Color of Noize

FIJM | Queen of Afrobeats, Ayra confirms her status as a Global… Starr

FIJM | Queen of Afrobeats, Ayra confirms her status as a Global… Starr

FIJM | Black Jazz by Marquis Hill

FIJM | Black Jazz by Marquis Hill

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea: being marketwise

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea: being marketwise

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Tyrane Mondeny Presents Her Mandingo Soul

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Tyrane Mondeny Presents Her Mandingo Soul

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

Common Holly – Anything glass

Common Holly – Anything glass

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM | Gabriella Olivo, Musical Journey in Three Languages

FIJM | Gabriella Olivo, Musical Journey in Three Languages

FIJM | Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

FIJM | Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – Ventre Unique

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Fantastic Negrito – Son of A Broken Man

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Cumbia, Chaos, and Resistance: Empanadas Illegales Bring the Heat to Montreal Jazz Fest

Turnstile – Never Enough

Turnstile – Never Enough

Subscribe to our newsletter