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- Summary: The debut full-length release for the British jazz artist features a guest appearance from Mansur Brown and influences from drum 'n' bass, hip hop and R&B.
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- Record Label: N/A
- Genre(s): Pop, Jazz
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 9
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Mixed: 1 out of 9
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Negative: 0 out of 9
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Jul 16, 2018This album signifies a moment for UK jazz but more importantly this a moment for Kamaal Williams.
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Jul 16, 2018Overall The Return is a vital addition to both the budding career of Kamaal Williams, and to modern jazz as a whole.
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UncutJul 16, 2018"High Roller" and "Medina" are laidback and elegant, blessed with Wu's dazzling, twinkling keyboard runs. But "Broken Theme" adds a note of challenge. [Jun 2018, p.37]
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Jul 16, 2018There is a timelessness to this record that's as connected to the electric jazz pioneers of the '70s as it is to today's best fusion players.
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Jul 16, 2018One of the best aspects of The Return is how balanced the songs feel, weaving in bits of modern electronic dance and hip-hop flourishes as on the stuttering, breakbeat-infused "Catch the Loop," and the equally kinetic "Broken Theme." While The Return implies, and often delivers on, Williams' clear desire to recapture the plasmic spirit of vintage '70s jazz-funk, the album is less of a return to past traditions and more of a rebirth.
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Jul 27, 2018While not a perfect album--there are moments wherein it feels like the musicians are too focused on sonic replication to truly put any sort of heart and soul behind the grooves--The Return is nonetheless another fine release in the ever-increasing catalog of fascinating 21st century jazz records.
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MojoJul 16, 2018Yet for all the invention and undeniably impressive groove control, there are lulls when their meditative update of '70s fusion stars Lonnie Liston Smith, Herbie Hancock and Roy Ayers slicks into something wallpapery, doodly and unselfconsciously by-numbers. [Aug 2018, p.95]