Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother is on a creative tear. In 2021 she delivered a blistering solo album alongside the excellent Irreversible Entanglements record, and just in the last couple of weeks she dropped off the debut record from her other project 700 Bliss. But is she stopping? Hell no. She’s got another Moor Mother record called Jazz Codes arriving on July 1 through Anti-.
Jazz Codes takes its name from a book of poems – a collection of poems written in honor of jazz and blues icons like Woody Shaw, Amina Claudine Myers, and Mary Lou Williams.
The first song to be shared from the record is named after one of these icons, the jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw, and finds Moor Mother teaming up with soul singer Melanie Charles. While it doesn’t feature any of Shaw’s signature instrument, “Woody Shaw” has a low-key jazz approach that sits behind Moor Mother’s street-level observations and Charles’ seductive coos. The rapper rattles off imagery like rifle shots, but the impact is not painful – each is a suggestion to go an educate yourself about a part of culture that you might not have previously explored. Such is Moor Mother’s way.
Watch the video for “Woody Shaw” below or find it on streaming platforms.
Moor Mother’s new album Jazz Codes comes out on July 1 through Anti- (pre-order/save). You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
