Curtis Nowosad - CNRMXD (2022)

NYC-based jazz drummer CURTIS NOWOSAD presents CNRMXD, a companion project to his self-titled, third album, released in 2019 on Sessionheads United and co-produced by pianist Marc Cary. The album, which focuses heavily on social justice issues, has been reimagined through the lenses of nine different producers from the US, Canada and Europe: Jesse Fischer, d.boom, Gengis Don, Keenyn Omari, Misha Savage, Jett Carter, Billa Joints, Efajemue and Jessi Lee. The hip hop/R&B/EDM/Afrobeat-tinged collection also features several special guests: JSWISS, Alina Engibaryan, Austin Antoine and Brianna Thomas and Michael Mayo, who were both featured on the original album.

On CNRMXD, Nowosad’s compositions are given new life by the many special guests: “The Water Protectors,” dedicated to the Standing Rock Sioux and featuring vocalist Michael Mayo, is creatively reconceptualized by producer Jessi Lee, and “Never Forget What They Did to Fred Hampton,” Nowosad’s tribute to the fallen Black Panther, is given a boom bap treatment by Gengis Don, with a sublime guest vocal by Alina Engibaryan and samples of Hampton himself. Misha Savage and Jett Carter bring a similar vibe to “Blues 4 Colin K,” which also features the words of Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback whose career was unjustly cut short for taking a stand against racial injustice. LA-based producer Efajemue—also well known for his work as drummer with the band Moonchild—and MC Austin Antoine flipped “Waltz 4 Meg,” into the hip hop track “W4M (All the Time),” and “Song 4 Marielle Franco,” a tribute to the assassinated Brazilian politician and social justice advocate, was transformed into “S4MF (Solitude),” by producer Keenyn Omari and rising star MC, JSWISS. Gil Scott-Heron’s “Home Is Where the Hatred Is,” is brought into House territory by Billa Joints, and Jesse Fischer’s genre-bending take on Nina Simone’s “See Line Woman,” features the soulful voice of Brianna Thomas, as does Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” remixed by Berlin-based producer d.boom.