Christian aTunde Adjuah

Reception

John Fordham of The Guardian wrote "The double album Christian aTunde Adjuah broadens the themes further: to his family's African ancestry, contemporary inequality and racism, globalisation and war. It isn't a lecture, but a courageous and ambitious experiment. The proclamatory purity of Scott's trumpet sound could carry much of the set's message on its own, but guitarist Matthew Stevens' raw chords and churning vamps make effective contrasts with the leader's silvery double-time passages". Chris Ray of All About Jazz noted "Extra-musically, too, aTunde Adjuah is a manifesto for change. Scroll down the track listing: the titles reference issues such as the rape of 400 African women in the Sudanese town of Rokero by Janjaweed militiamen ("Fatima Aisha Rokero 400"), the killing of an innocent black teenager in Florida earlier this year ("Trayvon"), the demonization of the homeless in the US ("Vs. The Kleptocratic Union: Mrs McDowell's Crime"), the trafficking of women for the sex trade ("Away: Anuradha And The Maiti Nepal"), conflict in the Middle East ("Jihad Joe"), the legacy of slavery in the US ("Dred Scott"), police killings of innocent people in New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina ("Danziger"), and HIV/AIDS ("The Berlin Patient: CCR5")... Scott's music is instrumental rather than vocal, so he addresses these issues not with words, but with attitude and vibe; track titles and liner notes are the only words you get. His message is no less coherent for that, and, while it may not have the narrative literalism of "conscious" rap music, it has the same relevance, accessibility and immediacy".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Christian Scott unless otherwise indicated.

Disc 1

1. Fatima Aisha Rokero 400 (5:41)
2. New New Orleans (Kind Adjuah Stomp) (5:01)
3. Kruo Shinobi (Interlude) (2:25), written by Lawrence Fields and Jamire Williams
4. Who They Wish I Was (5:42), written with Kristopher Keith Funn
5. Pyrrhic Victory of aTunde Adjuah (5:17)
6. Spy Boy / Flag Boy (4:45)
7. Vs. The Kleptocratic Union (Ms. McDowell's Crime) (6:00)
8. Kiel (6:14)
9. Of Fire (Les Filles de la Nouvelle Orleans) (4:15)
10. Dred Scott (4:29)
11. Danziger (10:38)

Disc 2

1. The Berlin Patient (CCR5) (3:50)
2. Jihad Joe (5:56)
3. Van Gogh (Interlude) (1:35), written with Lawrence Fields
4. Liar Liar (5:41)
5. I Do (4:03)
6. Alkebu Lan (5:33)
7. Bartlett (7:01), written by Matthew Stevens
8. When Marissa Stands Her Ground (6:24)
9. Cumulonimbus (Interlude) (2:26), written by Lawrence Fields
10. Away (Anuradha & The Maiti Nepal) (7:03)
11. The Red Rooster (3:37), written by Kristopher Keith Funn
12. Cara (5:30)

Personnel