Ambrose Akinmusire honey from a winter stone
Ambrose Akinmusire's honey from a winter stone arrives as a restless, deeply personal self-portrait that foregrounds improvisation, identity and the Black male experience. Critics note how Akinmusire folds chamber strings, hip-hop pulse and jazz improvisation into narratives of tension and release, and the record's urgency is best embodied by the harrowing “muffled screams” and the marathon centerpiece “Kinfolks”.
Across two professional reviews that produce an 86/100 consensus score, reviewers consistently praise the album's bold blending of traditions and its emotional clarity. Glide Magazine highlights “muffled screams” and “Kinfolks” as the album's standout tracks, praising Kokayi's improvised voice and a thirty-minute arc that cycles chamber music into hip-hop and back; Tinnitist similarly singles out “muffled screams” while noting reverent nods to Julius Eastman and the project's insistence on invention over conformity. Other pieces named by critics, including “MYanx.”, “Owled” and “Bloomed (the ongoing processional of nighas in hoodies)”, extend the album's interrogation of race, community and personal struggle through spoken word, trumpet solos and shifting textures.
While reviewers are uniformly admiring, they emphasize that the record's demands reward patient listening: improvisation and extended forms create a tension that pays off in concentrated moments of release. The critical consensus suggests honey from a winter stone is a challenging but essential chapter in Akinmusire's catalog, one that balances innovation and tradition and stakes a powerful claim on contemporary jazz's cultural conversation.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Kinfolks
1 mention
"Every facet of searing trumpet playing and compositional craft is here."— Glide Magazine
muffled screams
2 mentions
"The opener, "muffled screams," relates to a near-death experience"— Glide Magazine
MYanx.
2 mentions
"Brown’s polyrhythmic beats initiate "MYanx," addressing Black anxiety and mental health"— Glide Magazine
Every facet of searing trumpet playing and compositional craft is here.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
muffled screams
Bloomed (the ongoing processional of nighas in hoodies)
MYanx.
Owled
s-/Kinfolks
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
The review reads like a clear, admiring portrait: Ambrose Akinmusire frames honey from a winter stone as a self-portrait steeped in questions of identity and responsibility, and the critic responds in kind. The strongest moments are grounded in real stories - notably “muffled screams” with its near-death root and Kokayi’s improvised voice - which the writer treats as both intimate and emblematic. The piece stresses invention over conformity, making “muffled screams” and the album’s reverent nods to Julius Eastman into the best tracks and ideas on honey from a winter stone. The tone is reverent but unsentimental, highlighting Akinmusire’s courage to expand jazz into classical and hip-hop spheres while keeping emotional clarity.
Key Points
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The best song, "muffled screams", is the album’s emotional and narrative centerpiece because it stems from a near-death experience and features Kokayi’s improvised lyrics.
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The album’s core strengths are its fusion of jazz, classical and hip-hop influences and its candid exploration of identity and responsibility.
Themes
Critic's Take
Ambrose Akinmusire treats honey from a winter stone as a restless self-portrait where the best songs - “muffled screams” and “Kinfolks” - show his genius for tension and release, churning chamber strings, hip-hop pulse and piercing trumpet. The opener “muffled screams” dramatizes near-death protection of his son with somber trumpet and Kokayi's urgent lyrics, making it one of the album's most compelling tracks. The marathon “Kinfolks” is the centerpiece, a thirty-minute arc where chamber yields to hip-hop and back, containing virtually every facet of his searing playing and craft. Throughout, pieces like “MYanx.” and “Owled” extend the album's interrogation of Black anxiety and communal voice while keeping the listener hooked with unpredictable contrasts and rich textures.
Key Points
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The best song is "Kinfolks" because its thirty-minute arc contains the album's fullest expression of trumpet, composition and genre fusion.
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The album's core strengths are its mastery of tension and release and the seamless blend of chamber music, hip-hop and jazz to address communal and personal themes.