LOVE QUANTUM

Creating at a fast pace, trumpeter Theo Croker continues in the ethereal, groove-oriented vein of his 2021 album, *BLK2LIFE // A FUTURE PAST*, with the even more guest-heavy *LOVE QUANTUM*. Around the release of that previous LP, Croker frankly acknowledged his “psilocybin meditations,” and that energy certainly seems in play here as he reaches for a sonic world well beyond his specific instrument. Alto sax legend and Miles Davis alum Gary Bartz, appearing alongside cutting-edge MC and drummer Kassa Overall, bluesily sings a message he’s spoken about for years—“JAZZ IS DEAD”—which, to be properly understood, must be coupled with the next line, “long live music.” The goal, which Croker has embodied from the start, is to break free of any idiom’s expectations, to define tradition on one’s own terms. Croker’s horn pervades in a dreamy legato, playing hooks and melodic fragments as the guests do their thing. The rhythmic complexity and precision of “LOVE THYSELF,” with in-the-pocket vocals by Teedra Moses, provides a particular charge late in the program.

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