Emma-Jean Thackray’s debut album was released in July 2021 – but the English trumpeter and composer still had plans for it: a year later, this deluxe edition followed. It features a bonus disc with two new compositions and seven additional takes that reveal how the music has evolved during 12 months of live shows and studio time.
It’s evolved a lot. There’s a fresh rendition of Say Something, where nobody says anything. The instrumental version lets listeners zoom in on the twisted chord changes in the bridge and the plush production quality throughout. The pirouetting keyboard solo also gets more chance to stick its legs out from beneath the thick blanket of choral singing on disc one.
American rapper Wiki joins in with Golden Green on the deluxe album. The track has a meandering 90s R&B ballad vibe, with a spaced-out passage of long notes from keyboard, trumpet and vocals. Wiki’s behind-the-beat, lispy bars add hot-breathed horniness to the track’s cuddly character. It’s an experiment that holds water, and a solid fit for a bonus disc.
A live recording of the album’s title track is perhaps the biggest addition to the listening experience. It’s three times longer, so the repeated call “yellow” takes on the function of a meditative mantra. A long trumpet solo provides a rare taste of Thackray’s brass-playing chops, and is met with whooping approval.
Yellow (Deluxe) expresses Thackray’s versatility and gift for improvisation. She’s a skilled artist who has taught herself to play almost every instrument in the cupboard. This expanded album underlines her ability to blend avant-jazz, electronic dance, soul, gospel and more. It seems she could evolve in any direction.
Discography
CD1: Mercury; Say Something; About That; Venus; Green Funk; Third Eye; May There Be Peace; Sun; Golden Green; Spectre; Rahu & Ketu; Yellow; Our People; Mercury (In Retrograde) (49.15)
CD2: Sun (Live At The Church Studios); Say Something (Instrumental); Golden Green feat Wiki; The Road Trip To Saturn; The Rings Of Saturn; Sun (Jitwam & EJT Remix); Our People (Live At The Church Studios); Venus (Black Science Orchestra Tough Love Vocal Mix); Yellow (Live At EartH) (40.41)
Thackray (g, org, pc, syn, t, vib, v); Ben Kelly (sous); Tamar Osborn (bcl); Rebekah Reid (vn); Jamie-Lee Glinsman (vla); Lyle Barton (org, elp); Elliot Galvin (syn); Dougal Taylor (d); Crispin Robinson (cga); Black Science Orchestra (DJ); Sara Lima, And Is Phi, Love Ssega, Wiki (v). 22 July 2022.
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