Fermentation: Jujus / Alchemy Of The Blues
The magic fermented in this musical collection of poetry, is in many ways grown from its plentiful title. And while I wouldn’t recommend eating whole coffee beans as parallel to the experience of a masterful pour over, Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues does possess the essential ingredient to creating said experience; nourished beans. No matter how grand and tested any method might be, without a quality bean, the pour over consumer will be dissatisfied.
Correctly grinding a nurtured coffee bean with the right parts of water, results in a majestic encounter. Ground at medium fine are eight songs, inherited with practices aimed at deepening the spiritual with the natural. Where a dried fruit is transformed into a celebrated drink; minerals into gold.
Loaded with adjectives and perhaps most importantly, verbs, Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues is built upon action. Drums and brass swirl out and around Fabio’s words in real time. Running adjacent to the rush of senses conjured by a brown bean fix, Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues is a forever record; a ritual.
Like discovering a new roast, the grooves and hip hop hints contained on this revelatory 1976 artifact, are renewing. The opening notes of “The Hand That Rocks” greets listeners in familiarity (ah...the smell!). The punctual, percussive strikes land under Fabio’s sly nod to relational moods. Just like the movements to produce a superb cup of joe, all systems must be monitored.
“Sweet Songs” rattles and riffs into narrated intros by Thomas Fabio. This is the pour over set up. Sarah Webster Fabio is the main event. She’s the bean grown in altitude and attitude and roasted by the ways of the world and by fierce independence. Tommy is the carafe, holding the brew, Ronny Fabio’s bass is the Hario V60, special effects/percussionist Rick Hopton acts as a paper filter, while Leon Williams floods in as filtered water on alto saxophone and Wayne Wallace (guitar) helps control the flow like a temperature controlled gooseneck kettle, punctuating Sarah’s sorcery throughout.
Patience and pour over wield an inseparable link (you can’t rush this!). “Jujus For: Grandma” establishes a deep bass and drum run, highlighting both the essential: timing and space. Ronny and Lawrence E. Vann (drums) groove so hard it’s elemental. Content heavy and life affirming, Fabio’s words resurrect a past of fierce ancestral wisdom, nudging us to look deep into our own family tree of transmitting and transforming.
Not without a bewildering hue, Fabio and Hopton’s spells on “Chromo” cast the perfect Side B flip. At an easy 78 seconds, “Chromo” is anything but. Mimicking the pour over bloom and receiving double takes from the uninitiated, this disorienting expression helps give Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues its distinct flavor while releasing CO2.
Swinging loose, “Still, A Red Hot Axe” percolates an ode by addressing what holds greatness together (the pour over ain’t ready yet!) and in boldness, “If We Come As Soft Rain” elevates the deeper consciousness. Sacred and with incendiary one-offs, Fabio’s words color a narrative of a life well lived. You can trust she ‘worked it out’ and the brew is ready to drink.
Followed by the album’s namesake, Fabio’s generational sagacity and dedication is like sipping a well crafted pour over. The reprise, “Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues Instrumental”, trades those early sips for final gulps and directs us back to the start.
For some, Jujus / Alchemy of the Blues might serve as a quick pick me up; a vessel towards waking to a new day. That’s fine. But spinning this record like a fleeting caffeine blast misses out on its true spirit. If a jolt is only what one requires, be wary of how much whole milk, sugarcane, and other white add-ons you douse it with.
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