The Awakening album – Daniel Crawford

Listen to tracks from keyboardist Daniel Crawford’s The Awakening, a soul-jazz album that features contributions from Vikter Duplaix and Amp Fiddler

In 2013, jazz keyboardist Daniel Crawford made a splash with the single Strictly For My Negus, a beautiful instrumental that was reminiscent of the work of Blue Note’s Robert Glasper. But that tune wasn’t an accurate reflection of Crawford’s influences. Upon closer inspection of his discography, you’d find Crawford was equally at home paying homage to hip-hop producer J. Dilla or interpreting the tunes of jazz-funk vibesman Roy Ayers.

So it would always be difficult to second-guess how his sophomore album, The Awakening, would sound. As it turns out, it’s rather good. Kashmir, Your Guess Is As Good As Mine and Duke will appeal squarely at fans of polished fusion, however it’s when the album veers into soul-jazz territory that proceedings become really interesting.

Highlights include The One, in which Vikter Duplaix’s whispery vocals seamlessly complements Crawford’s rhythmic bass line. Then there’s Home (Africa) and Trouble, a pair of well-crafted cuts that precede Water No Get Enemy, Crawford’s remake of Fela Kuti’s ’70s Afrobeat classic.

Hear a selection of album tracks here, before heading to Crawford’s Bandcamp page or Amazon to download the entire LP.