Chief Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah Makes His Music With Constant Reevaluation

When speaking with the accomplished musician, Chief Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, it can often feel like you’ve opened an encyclopedia filled with history, culture and artistry. Adjuah, who was born and raised in a region where music was part of its DNA, understands songs almost like recipes. They are passed down for sustenance and from these deeply rooted compositions spring nations. As a musician, Adjuah, who comes from a line of artists and prominent indigenous New Orleans people, carries a nuanced burden. In one respect, he aims to tell the stories that have kept him and his family alive through centuries of hardship and discovery. In another, he pays them homage by reevaluating their nature to potentially re-form or broaden their scope so as to incorporate modern, though equally hard-earned ideas of care and community. Adjuah, whose latest live improvised record, AXIOM, was recently nominated for a Grammy, brings this in-depth understanding of musical reconstruction to each trumpeted phrase he plays.