The tuba does not belong to the world's most popular musical instruments. First of all, the tuba is quite heavy. Secondly, despite the fact that you are a visual eye-catcher, musically you always play a minor role when you play in an ensemble. You get to play good bass lines and if there is a solo in it, it is limited to a one-off per performance. Theon Cross, a member of
Shabaka Hutchings'
Sons Of… Kemet, has had a chance to make his instrument a lot more popular with his debut Fyah (2019). He stays true to jazz and adds a lot of electronics and elements from grime, rap, spoken word and reggae. There is absolutely no question of pure jazz. Cross calls it Afro Diaspora Music, a vague term, but in fact it means that he does whatever he wants. And that's a good thing, because Cross does push back frontiers, if only by the unique use of his tuba. (AD)more
