Irreversible Entanglements is an American free jazz collective formed in 2015.[1][2] The improvising quintet consists of vocalist Camae Ayewa (also known as Moor Mother), drummer Tcheser Holmes, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart.[3][4] Their albums have been celebrated as among the best in new music by The Wire,[5][6] The Quietus,[7] Magnet,[8] NPR Music,[9][10][11] and Stereogum.[12][13]
The members of Irreversible Entanglements met through music and activism: bassist Luke Stewart shared bills with Camae Ayewa's band the Mighty Paradocs; saxophonist Keir Neuringer worked with Books Through Bars, whose events Ayewa has emceed; and the trio of Ayewa, Stewart, and Neuringer was followed by the duo of Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes at a 2015 Musicians Against Brutality event following the shooting of Akai Gurley.[1][3]
Their 2017 debut, Irreversible Entanglements, was included in best-of-year lists in The Wire,[5] The Quietus,[7] NPR Music,[9] and in Stereogum's Best Jazz of the Decade for the 2010s.[12] Their second album, Who Sent You?, was celebrated as among 2020's best in The Wire,[6] Magnet,[8] Stereogum,[13] AllMusic,[14] and NPR Music's 2020 Jazz Critics Poll.[10] Their third studio album, 2021's Open the Gates, was recognized for its expansion of the group's sound, with their range and innovation drawing comparisons to the New York Art Quartet,[15] Sun Ra,[16] and the Art Ensemble of Chicago.[17] The album was included among the year's best in NPR Music[11] and Treble.[18]
Irreversible Entanglements performed in the inaugural season of the Kennedy Center's "Direct Current" contemporary culture showcase.[19]
The group's instrumentalists also performed on Ayewa's debut theatrical work, Circuit City.[20]
