Saxophonist Alabaster DePlume: ‘I want to make music that the world invents a special insult for’

“It’s kind of you to spend your time listening,” is the first thing Alabaster DePlume says on receipt of my questions for this piece. He is on tour in the US, promoting his new album A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole, and his gratitude seems over-generous – this album feels like a carefully wrapped, thoughtfully chosen gift, graciously bestowed at just the right moment. Those already familiar with his work will recognise the breathy, earthy sound of his saxophone, still present on this record but couched in a richer, more communal atmosphere. 

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I ask him if this description resonates and his response is equally unassuming: “If there is a communal aspect to the record it is most likely more a tendency, I mean a handy way to do the task of the record – that is address dignity and sovereignty and the work of healing. And as with anything communal and personal, it chose itself, and wasn’t prescribed or dictated.”

Alabaster DePlume’s music shares an improvisational spirit with both jazz and folk, rooted in storytelling and an exchange of energy between musician and audience. His compositions are tactile, yielding and are often remodelled by live interactions. There are trace elements of myriad influences in his music, and he does not subscribe to genre classification, reflecting on the fact that the word ‘jazz’ has derogatory roots. “Improvisation in music can live in any genre,” he says. “At the same time, I’m not so well-educated as to which genre is which or what that ought to mean. I would love if I could make a fresh music, that the world invents a special insult for, that I could then go on to wear as a badge of honour in defiance.”

Defiance is another of his driving forces; he has been quite literal in his assertion of his political perspectives. One song, titled “I Was Gonna Fight Fascism”, is on the nose, while the music video for “What’s Missing” features the final speech of Chilean president Salvador Allende before his overthrow. He has also become a conduit for grassroots activism closer to home, founding a monthly event called Peach at the Total Refreshment Centre in London, bringing together musicians from diverse backgrounds without prior rehearsals.  

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“Feeling part of a wider movement is a fundamental part of the work. The great thing wants to happen – let us allow it to happen.”

Having contributed prolifically to the fertile landscape of the current UK jazz scene, DePlume occupies a unique position: aligning with prodigiously talented, spiritually leaning figures like Shabaka Hutchings, while also drawing from the folk-adjacent world of artists like Richard Dawson. I suggest that his work feels radical in its openness, though he downplays this characterisation. “Radical is a generous word. In case it is useful for the reader to hear – in my position as I sit here I do not feel like I’m doing anything radical at all. I feel quite meek and gentle.”

The music itself is meek and gentle – it doesn’t make overt statements, it’s engaging and reflective, conversational. On the album’s opener for example, “Oh My Actual Days”, strings and sax encourage each other, with wobbly reassurance, towards a joyful apex. Elsewhere, “Prayer For My Sovereign Dignity” feels like a congregational invocation to set springtime in motion. Alabaster DePlume thrives on collaboration, giving space to other musicians to bring their own interpretations into his work, such as the guitarist Conrad Singh who also records with the wonderful pianist and sound artist Yama Warashi, and Ruth Goller, known for her work with Vula Viel and Melt Yourself Down.

Audiences at his live gigs become a part of the performance too. “I love to come to the shows unscripted and prepared to respond to the personalities there, in the audience, the players, the staff,” he says. “And my own personality as it is in that time, and what’s happening in this world at that time, and all this involves an aspect of the unknown. The unpreparable.” 

It’s hard to pin praise on someone so duty-bound and pragmatic about their vocation, but this is a remarkable record and the shows Alabaster DePlume will bring to the UK, when his tour continues throughout April and May, will no doubt be a moving experience. In fact I too feel duty-bound to attend and participate. “We are the perfect people for this time,” he says, “because we are the ones who are in this time. Let us get over ourselves and find each other and get on with our work.”

Find out more about Alabaster DePlume tour dates here.

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