Irreversible Entanglements

Irreversible Entanglements are a free jazz group fronted by Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother. Amid performances across the U.S., U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, they’ve recorded the albums Irreversible Entanglements (2017) and Who Sent You? (2020) for the International Anthem and Don Giovanni labels, followed by the full-lengths Open the Gates in 2021 and Protect Your Light in 2023.
The group originated in 2015, when poet/vocalist Camae Ayewa, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart performed in Brooklyn at an event organized by Musicians Against Police Brutality. Among the other performers were drummer Tcheser Holmes and trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, who joined the trio shortly thereafter for one day of recording at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn. Two songs composed by the instrumentalists, and one each by Neuringer and Stewart — with Ayewa fronting all four with her intense, distressed, and defiantly delivered spoken word — were issued in 2017 as Irreversible Entanglements. The digital edition was released that September, followed two months later by vinyl and compact disc pressings through a partnership between International Anthem and Don Giovanni.
Strong reception led to gigs across 2018 and 2019, including Pitchfork Fest and Jazzfest Berlin. The 24-minute piece “Homeless/Global” appeared during the latter year. A second album, Who Sent You?, arrived through the same label arrangement in March 2020, while June saw the digital-only release of Irreversible Live in Berlin. The quintet issued the title-track single/video for “Open the Gates” in October 2021, followed by “Lágrimas del Mar” and “Keys to Creation.” The full-length, seven-track Open the Gates arrived in November. Produced by the band, it was recorded in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles by Michael Richelle, mixed by Dave Vettraino, and mastered by Dave Cooley.
Following tours of North America and Europe, Irreversible Entanglements signed a record deal with iconic jazz label Impulse (label home to John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and many others). They entered Rudy Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and emerged with their label debut, an eight-track long player titled Protect Your Light, which was released in September 2023. ~ Andy Kellman