Flowers for the Living by Mourning [A] BLKstar

We as people chronically fail to show gratitude for people in our lives, using routine as an excuse to take our most precious loved ones for granted. Cleveland experimental jazz outfit Mourning [A] BLKstar gives us an escape route from this cold indifference on Flowers for the Living, a celebration of friendship to encourage us to express our own appreciation. The album’s improvisational nature from within its soul aesthetics exudes excitement and positivity, with each member of the group exercising their freedom to express their gratitude to the collective. A laser-focused rhythm section provides cohesion even in the midst of extensive improvisation, injecting dark aesthetic undertones to the record while maintaining a bouncy, buoyant atmosphere. Through this added depth, these relationships reveal themselves as complex and constructive, persisting in the darkest of times and giving pushback when necessary. Combining this gravity with a tightly binding love fosters an environment in which freedom abounds and yet every free movement enhances the collective, as in a soloist adding to a composition’s emotional valence.