Jazzmeia Horn

Musicians TBA

As Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn looks out the window of her 11th-floor hotel room in Tokyo, she describes the surrounding skyscrapers, the yellow and pink clouds floating by and Messages — her fourth leader date, which is set to release October 25, 2024, via Empress Legacy Records.

In part, Messages, is intended to be a word of encouragement to anyone making tough choices — a reminder that we all make sacrifices. Sometimes, the difficulties encountered along the way are worth it, though.

One of those hardships, for Horn, is being on the road as much as she is. It leaves less time to be with her family. But touring the world also granted Horn, a product of Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, space to ruminate on her relationships — both familial and romantic — how they’ve changed and how they inform her art.

“If you want to sing your own song, if you have a mission, if you have a lyric,” she began, looking out that window in Japan. “Whatever that voice is, that love, that light, that grit — whatever that is inside of you, you have to do that.”

In contrast to 2021’s Dear Love, the bandleader pared back her ensemble, eschewing the personnel of a big band, but retaining the avant-playfulness of the Sun Ra Arkestra — especially on the interstellar “Submit to the Unknown.” Ruminations on family, friendship, and love all circulate among the 10 original compositions on the album.

As much as those connections are mined for recurring lyrical motifs, Horn’s writing — her messages — readily reassures listeners to focus and pursue their ambitions. It’s also the bandleader bolstering herself against the world.

Visit Website