Théo Angelopoulous

Produced by and Featuring the Legendary Dee Dee Bridgewater. Plus Special Guests Stefon Harris and Roy Hargrove. Enter the AfroPhysicist trumpeter/composer Theo Croker. Coming straight out of Leesburg, Florida by way of Shanghai, China, this bold young soul-jazz newcomer, grandson of New Orleans trumpet legend Doc Cheatham, is fortified by tradition with no lack of contemporary electricity to propel him into the future. His trumpet pops over rock guitars and roaring organs, floats on the ballads and bops along on straight ahead swing. Croker deftly bridges generation gaps on Afro Physicist, his first album for OKeh Records, produced by Dee Dee Bridgewater for her DDB Records imprint.

Lest you miss Theo Bleck-mann and Fumio Yasuda’s attempt to tune in to a bygone era, the vocalist and pianist begin this collection of early-to-mid 20th century German songs with the sound of radio static. The white noise is gone by the end of the second track, Eisler and Brecht’s “Das Deutsche Miserere,” and its absence suggests that the musicians found what they were looking for. But what should we make of what they’ve found? That everything here dates back to the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich is hardly indicative of an exercise in nostalgia. Bleckmann, according to his Web site, is a “Genre-bending, -skipping and -skirting vocalist and composer.” And Yasuda works in both the classical and jazz realms.

When I listen or when I play music, I'm in a bubble. I sometimes go very far, carried by a collection of images or states. This new album puts these divagations in music. Two years after the 30YearsFrom trio revelation, a disc selected by the Inrocks as one of the best jazz albums of 2017, Theo Girard is back with a second album in quartet. The Indo-Scottish drummer Seb Rochford, the trumpet player Antoine Berjeaut and the young saxophonist Basile Naudet are the fiery performers.

In those times of crisis when you need a team of heroes, look for the Dogs Of War. The greatest warriors from across the world unite to battle whatever evil may arise.
Theo, a giant of a man emerges out of Africa to face off against chaos in all its forms.

An engaging and dynamic mix of compositions from this young protegé of the late Keith Tippett, where the jazz is strongly influenced by the English pastoral tradition. The result is both brand new and nostalgic, conjuring up a strong sense of atmosphere and place.