“Awaken, My Love!”
+ the “Taxi Driver” theme
Neo-soul music artist Nick Hakim and multi-reedist Roy Nathanson channel a blend of both terrestrial and cosmic inspirations on
Small Things, their first collaborative album. The partnership is unexpected, aside from the fact that the artists met through—and have both performed with—the elusive New York City-based jazz ensemble
Onyx Collective in the past.
Small Things is the first album to be released on Onyx Collective’s new record label NYXO, and promisingly so.
Eclectic and romantic,
Small Things is reminiscent of Hakim’s debut,
Green Twins (2017), and is a passionate tribute to Nathanson’s instrument. “She was speaking to the saxophone / In an intimate way / All because she recognized that the saxophone / Is a kindred spirit,” Hakim sings on the title track, carefully, as if waking someone from a deep sleep. Lo-fi vocals and staccato woodwind give way to a mellow drum beat and the result is transportive. Listening, I imagine myself somewhere far from my couch: a bustling city on a chilly, humid night, ice clinking against glasses, soft light and smooth velvet.