The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - Step Down Artist_Omar Souleyman

The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - Step Down Artist_Omar SouleymanThe Sure Fire Soul Ensemble are definitely on a roll coming off of their third LP, Build Bridges, which debuted at #1 on Billboards Contemporary Jazz Chart. Their new and fourth LP, Step Down, is a direct reflection of the heavy times they were written and recorded in. Covid 19, two Presidential impeachment trials, the George Floyd murder and resulting social unrest, a seditious attempt to subvert the democratic process at The Capitol With titles like

dropping raps on "Keep Movin" while alternating between singing and vocoder on the electro boogie cut "Show The Way

Their debut for Polyvinyl

More gentle time shift chord framework erupts into molten fury three minutes in

” shares Maurice Grey

and jazz chords

songwriter

nothing felt right

Rich in detail and character

The tempo changes to medium fast—the flute solos

this time was dedicated to taking a closer look at the loose ends of three years of ideas and seeing if there were common threads that held them together

keeping the practices a secret and enjoying the simple communion of playing together

all steeped in a deep spiritual tradition reaching from Alice Coltrane to Kamasi Washington