Mama Terra - Inner Space Mama Terra

Following the release last year of Mama Terra’s ‘Chameleons (Live Interpretations Of Herbie Hancock)’, and their acclaimed 2023 debut studio album ‘The Summoned’ (“Bursts with zeal and vigour” - MOJO ****), Scotland’s leading jazz ensemble return with the new album ‘Inner Space’.

Building on the musical themes and ambition of their debut, ‘Inner Space’ explores the reality and potential of the human condition - ‘what we are and what we can be!’, introducing new instrumentation to their remarkable sound, as well as the iconic narration of Conrad Roberts, known for his 1971 collaboration with Miles Davis.

The album was recorded between the band’s native Glasgow, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, under the direction of leader, composer and producer CAFOLLA, joined by Grammy-nominated co-producer and
engineer Joel Hamilton.

Musically, influences range from Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, John and Alice Coltrane to Terence Blanchard and David Axlrod, Kamasi Washington, Scott Walker and Don Ellis, to Holst, and Mama Terra’s sound remains as distinctive as their inspiration is eclectic.

Alongside CAFOLLA (piano, Moog synthesisers and Hammond organ) and regular collaborator Konrad Wiszniewski (saxophones) is the striking and inventive soprano voice of Rachel Lightbody, which has become a defining feature of Mama Terra’s original take on spiritual jazz.

Conrad Roberts appears on two tracks.
CAFOLLA, a lifetime fan the poet’s contribution to Davis’s ‘Live-Evil’ (1971), decided to track down Roberts to recite words written for what became lead track ‘Inner Space (Narration by Conrad Roberts)’.
Not only did Roberts oblige, he was also inspired to contribute words he had initially prepared for Miles, in the event they worked together again, which appear on ‘Bliss (Words & Narration by Conrad Roberts)’, moved by what he felt was a continuity in the works.

The album also features classical music stars The Ayoub Sisters as guest string section throughout and New York trumpeter Jeremy Pelt returns to guest on ‘The Observers’, alongside an incredible
ensemble of players who shape the Mama Terra vision: music for the eye of the storm, where fear, beauty and stillness coexist.