Recording: Mali Obomsawin

Artist: Mali Obomsawin

Song: [Music from Sugarcane]^*

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Women From Space Festival – Night 2), March 9, 2024.

Mali Obomsawin - [Music from Sugarcane]

Once more, the Women From Space Festival filled the International Women's Day weekend — and the spaces of 918 Bathurst — with sound, art, and a feeling of community. Mixing genres, but always focusing on creative striving, there was a lot of music to absorb over three nights.

Having caught Mali Obomsawin's quartet last fall, this set couldn't repeat the shock of discovering such a deftly-able unit, but definitely satisfied with the setlist moving deeper beyond the sounds on Sweet Tooth, incorporating the church of Albert Ayler as well as this recent soundtrack work from the documentary Sugarcane.

^* Does anyone know the specific title to this piece? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Mali Obomsawin Quartet

Artist: Mali Obomsawin Quartet

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at ImprovLab, University of Guelph (IF 2023 – Day 2), October 21, 2023.

Mali Obomsawin Quartet - unknown

A rare out-of-town day trip to hear some music out past the city limits gave a glimpse into goings-on out in Guelph, including the U of G's "brand new state-of-the-art" ImprovLab, which hosted some of the concerts in a full day's programming as part of the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation's conference. Fabulous work here from bassist Mali Obomsawin, playing alongside Magdalena Abrego (electric guitar), Allison Burik (bass clarinet, alto sax), and Mili Hong (percussion). Exploring songcraft and other compositional forms, there was room here for a lot of interplay — and improvisation — often in the form of simmering grooves.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!