Chicago jazz musician Damon Locks and his Black Monument Ensemble group have announced a followup to their great 2019 debut album Where Future Unfolds. It’s called NOW, it’s due April 9 via International Anthem, and the first single is the sprawling, shapeshifting “Now (Forever Momentary Space),” which is a very promising first taste. Some background via press release:

Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble’s new album “NOW” was created in the final throes of Summer 2020, following months of pandemic-induced fear & isolation, the explosion of social unrest, struggle & violence in the streets, and as the certain presence of a new reality had fully settled in. Set up safely in the garden behind Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio, the music was recorded in only a few takes, capturing the first times members of BME had ever played or sang the tunes. For Locks, the impetus was more about getting together to commune and make art than it was about producing an album. In his words: “It was about offering a new thought. It was about resisting the darkness. It was about expressing possibility. It was about asking the question, ‘Since the future has unfolded and taken a new and dangerous shape… what happens NOW?’”

In addition to Damon, Black Monument Ensemble includes Angel Bat Dawid, Ben LaMar Gay, Dana Hall, and Arif Smith, and vocals come from Phillip Armstrong, Monique Golding, Tramaine Parker, Richie Parks, Erica Rene, and Eric Tre’von.

Watch the video for the new song (animated by Rob Shaw, with footage by Brian Ashby and art by Damon) below.

Tracklist
1. Now (Forever Momentary Space)
2. The People vs The Rest of Us
3. Keep Your Mind Free
4. Barbara Jones-Hogu and Elizabeth Catlett Discuss Liberation
5. Movement And You
6. The Body Is Electric