"He taught us that all music is now-music, of the moment, never the same." Hypnotic Brass Ensemble's first album since Phil Cohran's passing in early 2017, Book Of Sound is the brothers' tribute to their father, who raised them in the South Side of Chicago with music as the focal point of their lives. Deep, warm and calming, the percussion-less album manifests spirituality, and it's a rich, pure, and focused project that also centers around Afrocentric philosophies, which the senior Cohran entrenched himself in most of his life. Concerning "Morning Prayer," the brothers state: "this was literally our morning prayer when we were kids." "Now" follows, which is the Ensemble's recreation of a Phil Cohran-style song, and "Midnight" is inspired by the late artists overcoming of of a heroin addiction through music therapy (in the 60s). "Sri Neroti" took shape from the concept of mind over matter (Sri was Phil's yoga teacher) the brothers note, and "Royalty" is a recognition of the origin of Gabriel Hubert aka Hudah's name, which takes from "Yehuda," the lion of the tribe of Judah. A striking project, recommended.

• music label: Honest Jon's Records 2017

reviewed by rei kwondo 1/2018