Humanity is put under an ambient avant-garde lens in the latest album from composer, saxophonist and instrumentalist Leonardo Radicchi. Across the shadowy jazz-fusion LP, there is almost an arcane mysticism at work; the record becomes a cradle away from modernity as the instrumentals turn into their own form of folklore, carrying dignity, freedom and collective responsibility through a fractured world.
In the standout piece, Dignity from Humanity Suite, Radicchi gives the sax lines a sense of slow-burning catharsis as they move across diaphanous, tribally awakening percussion. Non-lexical harmonies enter the production, lending their hymnal scintillation, which carries enough spiritual weight to lighten your soul.
Radicchi’s work as a humanitarian in conflict zones gives Humanity a sense of sincerity that reaches far beyond abstraction. Pieces across the album respond to justice, identity, war, resilience, nature and shared human worth, with Dignity holding the philosophical centre in its spectral hands.
If the Humanity LP came to light as a kaleidoscope through which the composer and sax savant views the world, it is safe to say he takes a sombre view of how far we have drifted from the meaning of humanity.
Dignity from Humanity Suite is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast