Shabaka and the Ancestors

Shabaka and the Ancestors is one of the projects led by the London-based saxophonist and juggler extraordinaire Shabaka Hutchings. The project evolved from his collaboration with the South African jazz band The Ancestors, working off of Cape Town and Johannesburg. The music they produce has a more South African township jazz feel, and calmer, more meditative vibes that is in sharp contrast with most other Shabaka projects, which tend to be fairly frantic and boisterous. There are also some Afro-Caribbean sounds in the mix, as well as aspects of the work that Miles Davis and John Coltrane did in the mid-'60s. Their first album in 2016, Wisdom of Elders, was filled with serene and ruminative pieces along those lines. Their follow-up album five years later, We Are Sent Here by History, has more dynamic variations, and more pronounced Latin tones.