Finding Home – Finn Carter

Pianist/composer Finn Carter is at the center of London’s adventurous genre-blending jazz community, regularly appearing at venues like Ronnie Scott’s and The Vortex, working with stars of the pop world – Loyle Carner, Olivia Dean and Rex Orange County – while honing his own uncompromising musical vision. On Finding Home he’s joined by three musicians with a similarly eclectically unfettered approach to music making, that embraces high-level complexity while maintaining a direct connection to the listener. Kaidi Akinnibi on tenor sax brings his distinctive, light-as-air tone and compatible range of experience across musical genres, while the rhythm team of Joe McLaren on bass and drummer Blake Cascoe provide a revelation in shifting texture and intensity, always driving the music to greater heights. Trumpeter Christos Stylianides brings his uniquely individual voice as a guest to enrich the ensemble.

Finding Home is a powerfully characterful statement from a standout artist who’s crafted his own voice, surrounded by a like-minded family of players. Each of the eight tunes has its own distinct personality, yet they all hang together as a continuous piece, establishing their own musical identity through Finn’s tumbling, lyrical piano, Kaidi’s nimble, breathy saxophone, and the endlessly flexible interactive grooves from bass and drums.

Finn’s music contains echoes of his inspirations; he names Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire and Donny Hathaway as favourites, but transcends influence to make its own utterly individual statement. At the helm of this group of similarly uncategorisable musicians, Finn Carter has delivered his most accomplished statement yet with Finding Home.