This is the first full set from Emma-Jean Thackray, whose previous EPs were a bit closer to straight electronic than the clear jazz influences apparent here. I'm not sure how much of this was played in a band context and how much of it was assembled in studio, and so what?

Emma-Jean Thackray Yellow (Movementt)

Jazz as an assembled product goes back to (at least) Bitches Brew, and some of the best-known modern jazz works like Future Shock were almost entirely assembled by producers. In this case, the producer is the composer is the person whose name is on the music.

Thackray is clearly influenced by the space-jazz of Sun-Ra, and she infuses that with ambient sounds and the occasional kicky beat. Songs like "Say Something" sound a lot like Controversy-era Prince, substituting keyboard noodling for slinky guitar. I liked the EPs, but they were created with a much smaller palette. Thackray has opened up everything on this album, and her relentless fearlessness rewards immensely.

For all the "non-jazz" bits and pieces, the overarching attitude of this album is one of creative synthesis--the lifeblood of jazz. Jazz has always been evolving, and that is largely because of artists like Thackray who don't really care about labels. Whatever you want to call this, be sure to call it what it really is: Amazing. Head to new worlds, and then really take off.

Jon Worley