Featuring some of the top players in London’s thriving jazz scene, Nérija follows up their breakthrough self-titled EP, which was re-released earlier this year, with their debut full-length album on Domino.

This seven-person collective features an incredible group of musicians and bandleaders that includes tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia, Sheila Maurice-Grey on trumpet, and alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi who both also play in KOKOROKO and SEED Ensemble. The band also notably features trombonist Rosie Turton, Shirley Tetteh on guitar (who also plays in Maisha), drummer Lizy Exell, and SEED Ensemble bassist Rio Kai.

Formed out of Tomorrow’s Warriors Development program and originally featuring an all female cast (Inga Eichler was original bassist), Nérija was consciously created to help address the imbalance of women instrumentalist in jazz. 

This new ten-track album picks right up where their EP (originally recorded back in 2016) left off, featuring a lot of the same musical elements found in the members other groups, fusing together jazz, Afrobeat rhythms, and deep South African rooted melodies. Each player brings a lot to the overall recording, while also given the ability to showcase their own virtuosity as a musician. 

In all, Blume is truly a brilliant album that is up their with any jazz recording you’ll hear this year. 

Nérija — ‘Blume’
(Domino Recordings Co.)

1. Nascence
2. Riverfest
3. Last Straw
4. Partner Girlfriend Lover
5. EU (Emotionally Unavailable)
6. Blume
7. Equanimous
8. Swift
9. Unbound
10. Blume II

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