Burn the Plastic, Sell the Copper by Ishmael Ali

For fans of Ornette Coleman, Zoh Amba, DJ Shadow, jazz fusion, and the chaotic dance of memory, Burn the Plastic, Sell the Copper by Ishmael Ali intuitively crafts an avant garde aesthetic to illuminate the great filing cabinet of the subconscious. Our main character in this introspective journey finds a voice through Ali’s expressive, diverse styles of cello, equalling the versatility of the human voice and guiding us through this bewildering environment. Each track features a rotating cast and crew, including a surprisingly straightforward drum kit, some constructively glitchy electronic percussion, an evocatively swinging muted trumpet, and some delightfully tender sung vocals, each of which serves as components of our memory bursting forth involuntarily. As we, voiced by the cello, go searching for a specific moment in our past, a million lightly related emotions, facts, stories, people, and sounds swirl about, surfacing alongside the memory we’ve selected to inform our perception of every moment we’ve ever experienced. Over time, these elements form their own symphony, leaving each of us with our own band narrating our perception at all times.