Shaman!

With the return of original band member Dr Margaux Simmons on flute, the Pyramids are now seven. This alone helps to make this, the third in a sparkling series for Strut, the most variegated and fulfilling of the three. The interplay of flute, alto or tenor sax and Sandra Poindexter’s polished violin adds another layer and embellishes the sense of mystery.

Six of the nine tracks exceed seven minutes, but to hypnotic rather than meandering effect. The brilliant rhythm section of bass, drums and percussion roots the spiritual elements firmly in Mother Earth, and Bobby Cobb’s ever-shifting guitar adds soul, funk, Afrobeat and jazz motifs to the mix. Periodically, the leader’s muscular tenor playing pushes into free-jazz territory, but as the memorable ‘Eternity’, the devilishly funky ‘The Last Slave Ship’ and the closing ‘Dogon Mysteries’ demonstrate, for all its textural richness and thematic density, there’s nothing overly intellectual about this music. Idris Ackamoor speaks to us all, literally on the first single chosen, ‘When Will I See You Again’, with its ‘freak storm’ bringing death to ‘young and old… before their time.’ Ostensibly about gun violence, it’s eerily relevant, and just one of many stand-out tracks on an intoxicating album.