While hardly new territory for Zara McFarlane, her third album Arise is her most complete exploration yet of jazz and traditional afro-Caribbean music. Born out of both her experiences in Jamaica, and her life at the centre of the London jazz scene, it brings together the two genres with a fluidity that makes them seem the most natural of partners.

The album weaves between eras as it does between genres: opening and closing tracks ‘Ode to Kumina’ and ‘Ode to Cyril’ explicitly highlight folk traditions of the early 1800s, literally framing the album between two points of musical history. The cover of Nora Dean’s ‘Peace Begins Within’ sees the drums revert to a shuffling afro-Caribbean rhythm even as the vocals and keys modernise this reggae classic. Songs like ‘Fussin’ And Fightin’’ or ‘Freedom Chain’ draw heavily on dub for their basslines, while individual melodies situate the songs firmly in 21st century spiritual jazz.

Asked how she resolved the sounds of reggae and jazz, she told us “genres like rocksteady and reggae always had a lot of instrumentation in common with jazz – horns, double bass. I probably simplified chord structures too, but then my band definitely added more jazzy elements.” It’s no surprise that jazz shines through, nor that this is where the album is at its strongest, since McFarlane, herself winner of the 2014 MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act, surrounded herself with some of the biggest names in the UK jazz scene at the moment – Moses Boyd co-produces, with his drumming exceptional on tracks like ‘Riddim – Interlude’ and ‘Pride’. Meanwhile, Binker Golding’s tenor sax on the latter brings the song to a climax that’s as vital as it is unpredictable.

The history of colonialism in Jamaica hangs heavy over the album – compounded by McFarlane’s research for a musical she’s writing, set there at the cusp of emancipation – and comes to a head in ‘Silhouette’, which features a lingering and hauntingly explorative melody from Shabaka Hutchings on clarinet. “This song came out of a desire to honour blackness,” she told us. “To be proud of it, and pay homage to it. It explores the journey of black people and how they’ve gone through so much, and need to use that to find an identity.” On this song, as on ‘Stoke the Fire’ – an ominous and crashing effort that examines the combative relationship between governments and their people – McFarlane uses her voice piercingly, to challenge or berate. Elsewhere on the album, set to the warm swing-feel of ‘Allies or Enemies’, for example, it can be coy and seductive.

Perhaps more than anything, Arise exposes the common ground between jazz and reggae music: the more you listen, the more natural the fusion seems, and the more the shared heritage of the genres reveals itself. By littering it with sights and sounds from her own experiences with her family in Jamaica, McFarlane makes it a personal exploration of her heritage as well as an examination of black identity in general – lending it different interpretations through different lenses. Add to this the inevitably sterling musicianship from the acclaimed lineup, and what’s not to love?

Ben Noble

Hear our interview with Zara on Juice Brighton at 9pm on 4th October 2017.

Website: zaramcfarlane.com
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