There are a couple ways to critique an album that uses music for a stepping board for expressing social issues, such as this one by composer and musical director Anthony Branker. The ten movement suite includes impressive artists including Walter Smith III/ts, Philip Dizack/tp, Remy Le Boeuf/as-ss, Pete McCann/g, Fabian Almazan/p, Linda May Han Oh/b, Donald Edwards/dr and Alison Crockett/voc.
Musically, the horns go through some sophisticated and tricky charts as on the title tune, and the richly textured “Placeless”. McCann shines on “Indivisible” and Almazan is rich and deep during the intuitive “Sundown Town” with things getting a bit edgy on the push and pull “The Door Of No Return”. Everyone sounds inspired and intriguing. The issue comes with the lyrics bringing up issues like “systemic racism”, “genocidal treatment of Indigenous Americans” and the like. Taking pages from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States or the historically inaccurate 1619, the librettist might want to look into other opinions such as Keith Richburg’s Out of America for a more balanced view for the next suite of messages.