Theo Croker continues his push into the major league with a jazz-infused blend of R&B and a change of tack. Previous albums focused his trumpet elegance and funky beats on social concerns — his last album, 2021’s Blk2Life: a Future Past, had an epic, Afrofuturist core. In contrast, Love Quantum, his seventh release, digs into the desires and defeats of personal relationships. Guests include Jill Scott and the influential drummer Chris Dave, and Wyclef Jean and Kassa Overall return from the previous set.
The American’s approach to trumpet crosses the brassy flamboyance of Christian Scott (aTunde Adjuah) with the late Roy Hargrove’s Nu-soul warmth; his control of new-generation beats is equally fine-tuned. The brief and broody “Love Quantum (Prelude)” gets the gist, but it is the carefully crafted layers, instrumental breaks and hip-hop beats of “Jazz is Dead” which get to the core. Here, rapper Kassa Overall celebrates a living music that cannot be encased in a single word and Croker hits the highs before blending seamlessly with veteran saxophonist Gary Bartz’s mix of bop and soul.
The layered late-night flavours of “To Be We” follow, with Jill Scott mixing speech and song and surrounding odd lyrics with wreaths of breath. And then comes the club-fuelled romance of “Royal Conversation”, one of the album’s strongest tracks. James Tillman has a rich tenor voice, a sensuous falsetto and writes lyrics to match. Later, Jamila Woods is effectively multi-tracked on “Divinity” and Ego Ella May relishes the lyrics and sparse acoustic support of “Somethin’”.
The two instrumentals are somewhat short. The fleshed-out stabs of “Cosmic Intercourse” bounce with beats crafted by drummer Chris Dave, and “Humanity” introduces a trace of walking bass swing. Production values are high and Croker’s effects-enhanced trumpet riffs and swings, although hearing him stretch out would have been nice.
Croker’s trumpet shines throughout the set, but the album’s success depends on his sonic mastery as a producer. “She’s Bad” is the final track, with spiky Croker trumpet, pinpoint beats and a Wyclef Jean rap.
★★★★☆
‘Love Quantum’ is released by Sony Masterworks
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