'I Insist' is a reflection of the experiences, circumstances, and people that have made me who I am. Through this music, I hope to express my identity: my blackness, my manhood, my youth, and my full Caribbean-American self, along with all of the histories and systems that brought me here and now. I also hope that these songs reflect my many musical influences. My goal is to channel great masters like John Coltrane, J Dilla, and João Gilberto, as well as the teachers who have guided me, and the peers who I have competed with, learned from, and those who have encouraged or inspired me.
This music also reflects a learning process that I could not have realized without my many musical collaborators. That includes the musicians who have recorded on this project: Sami, Isaac, Adam and Tyrone, but also my greater musical community. I have been pulling out these charts on unsuspecting band members almost every week, at the various jam sessions and events I have hosted around Brooklyn for the past several years. That is how this music was developed, and that is where this music lives for me, but I am excited to let it venture out in this new format. I hope it finds you well!
I Insist is dedicated to my mother, Katrina Scott-George.
- Kazemde George
1. Things Line Up
2. Coasts
3. Balance
4. Skylight
5. Haiti
6. I Insist
7. Happy Birthday
8. Parkside
9. This Spring
10. Understanding
Kazemde George, tenor saxophone
Sami Stevens, vocals
Isaac Wilson, Wurlitzer and piano
Tyrone Allen II, acoustic bass
Adam Arruda, drums
Production Credits:
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Produced by Kazemde George
Recorded at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, NY on December 11-12, 2019
Engineered Christopher Benham
Mixed and mastered by Dave Darlington
Photography by Kirsten Noelle
Artwork by HAMO
Graphic design by Lukas Frei
All compositions by Kazemde George (Kazemde Reese Ayodele George / ASCAP) except:
“Skylight” and “Happy Birthday”, composed by Kazemde George with lyrics by Sami Stevens (Sami Stevens / ASCAP)
