{"id":11411,"date":"2025-10-07T17:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=11411"},"modified":"2025-10-08T17:09:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T22:09:04","slug":"review-sarah-elizabeth-charless-dawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-sarah-elizabeth-charless-dawn\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sarah Elizabeth Charles\u2019s \u2018Dawn\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>While it\u2019s been done in pop, appearing noticeably pregnant on an album cover is a rarity for improvisation-based music. Indeed, vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles\u2019 <em>Dawn<\/em> (Ropeadope, 2025) may be one of the first. The album\u2019s cover is striking &#8211; the artist in a stunning silhouette, leaving no doubt that she is indeed with child, and the compositions contained therein develop around that theme. Recorded in 2024 while she was six months pregnant with her second child, <em>Dawn<\/em> is Charles\u2019s fifth album and reflects on birthing, loss, joy, grief, hope, and personal growth. In an even rarer move, she devotes a song to miscarriages. In another, she also recounts the 2020 loss of her brother, Luke. In short, it is a treatise on life, loss, and motherhood. The courage to be so vulnerable and courageous should not be a surprise to anyone familiar with Charles\u2019s previous work as a strong advocate for gender justice, incarcerated individuals, and early childhood music education. Yet there remains something deeply personal about the recording.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_63tf1YpZssA\"><div id=\"lyte_63tf1YpZssA\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/63tf1YpZssA\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/63tf1YpZssA\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/63tf1YpZssA\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the album, Charles appropriately fronts an all-female cast. Maya Keren contributes additional vocals and keyboards while Linda May Han Oh (bass), Savannah Harris (drums), Skye Steele (violin), and Marika Hughes (cello) round out the ensemble. Charles\u2019s husband, Jarrett Cherner, constructed the string arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That steady rumbling heard in the opening \u201cRainbow J\u201d comes from the recorded heartbeat of her younger son, Jaden. The voice of her older son, Tyler, is also interspersed into what is essentially a string-driven overture, replete with samples, loops, Charles\u2019s wordless, layered vocals, and Harris\u2019s mallets. \u201cGround\u201d is a two-minute arco bass solo from Oh, that retains the ethereal quality of the opener with a solemn, perhaps prayerful tinge. Oh\u2019s solo ends by presaging the melody of \u201cDiscovery,\u201d a tune that begins with cinematic-like orchestral strings. Group members then seemingly enter one by one before the strings again swell behind Charles\u2019s poignant lyrics about the birth of her first son. With \u201cI can&#8217;t hold you \/ time to be true \/ time to be who you are,\u201d&nbsp; she speaks to both herself and him. \u201cMiracle\u201d is meditative, but like its predecessor, subtle nuances and layers in the accompanying music and string arrangement emerge as Charles sings about Tyler\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_KisA2tXyEKg\"><div id=\"lyte_KisA2tXyEKg\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/KisA2tXyEKg\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KisA2tXyEKg\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/KisA2tXyEKg\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKick\u201d depicts the full ensemble at work without Cherner\u2019s string arrangement. It is a musical capture of the first sensation of Tyler\u2019s in utero movements. Charles delivers ethereal echoes, pronounced scats, and challenging vocal techniques in addition to singing her lyrics (\u201cGenerations move through me\u201d). Keren shines on the Rhodes while Steele and Hughes form compelling harmonics around the leader\u2019s vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The strings return for \u201cPlans,\u201d a piece about the unpredictability of birthing. Charles was unconscious for her son\u2019s first moments and didn\u2019t meet him until hours after birth. She recounts these personal moments herself as she expresses gratitude for the care she received. But she also acknowledges the realities of maternal health inequities, as racial minorities face disproportionately high rates of complications and preterm births in America. \u201cRainbow T\u201d is the counterpart to the opener, creating that same mood replete with an in utero heartbeat, toddler expressions, and improvisation in slightly over two minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_AlhJmsXGWh4\"><div id=\"lyte_AlhJmsXGWh4\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/AlhJmsXGWh4\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AlhJmsXGWh4\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/AlhJmsXGWh4\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In \u201cMother,\u201d Charles breaks free of otherwise ethereal tones to sound more commanding and more like a pop singer as she celebrates the work, sacrifices, and other things all too often taken for granted in mothering children. Solos &#8211; very unpop-like by the way &#8211; from Keren, Oh, and Harris contribute to this uplifting piece. By contrast, the tone of \u201cAngel Spark\u201d is aptly mournful. Charles repurposes the song about miscarriage &#8211; of which she has had two; in her mind, both were daughters &#8211; that she originally recorded with her ensemble SCOPE. Cherner\u2019s string arrangement frames the talents of Steele and Hughes, forming a crescendo toward the end as Charles sings, \u201cCan you love a thing that never was? \/ Can you mourn anticipation lost? \/ Can you hold that love so close and let it go? \/ Oh, let it go.\u201d The music then fades quietly behind Keren\u2019s piano outro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The closer \u201cQuestions\u201d is the most reflective piece on the album. Charles duets with Oh, pondering the loss of her brother and the wonder of the new lives she has birthed. Love gone becomes love found in this mysterious cycle of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Few artists would have the courage to make themselves as vulnerable to the listener as Charles does here. <em>Dawn<\/em> is a compelling, singular, and deeply memorable project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u2018Dawn\u2019 is out now on Ropeadope Records. It can be purchased <a href=\"https:\/\/sarah-elizabeth-charles.bandcamp.com\/album\/dawn\">on Bandcamp<\/a>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While it\u2019s been done in pop, appearing noticeably pregnant on an album cover is a rarity for improvisation-based music. Indeed, vocalist and composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles\u2019 Dawn (Ropeadope, 2025) may be one of the first. The album\u2019s cover is striking &#8211; the artist in a stunning silhouette, leaving no doubt that she is indeed with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":11410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":74,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1935.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-2Y3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4168,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/peaks-valleys-michael-leonhart-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":11411,"position":0},"title":"Peaks and Valleys: A Conversation with Michael Leonhart (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"March 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes the most complicated things in life are those that appear deceptively simple. We all understand, at a surface level, our emotions. We learn, from an early age, what it means to be happy, sad, or angry. But the reality is that these sensations are often far more complex than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10765,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-solace-of-the-mind-amina-claudine-myers\/","url_meta":{"origin":11411,"position":1},"title":"Review: Amina Claudine Myers\u2019 \u2018Solace of the Mind\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"June 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Every so often, an album moves beyond music, carrying the listener to an array of deeply reflective moods. Last year, we were gifted such an album in Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens (Red Hook, 2024) by pianist Amina Claudine Myers and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Now,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/img_2698-1.jpg?fit=880%2C660&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/img_2698-1.jpg?fit=880%2C660&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/img_2698-1.jpg?fit=880%2C660&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/img_2698-1.jpg?fit=880%2C660&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2508,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/joni-mitchell-theo-bleckmann-westerlies\/","url_meta":{"origin":11411,"position":2},"title":"Reflections Through Geography with Joni Mitchell and Theo Bleckmann and The Westerlies","author":"Colin Stanhope","date":"February 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Fifty years ago, Joni Mitchell released the most iconic album of her career, one that changed the trajectory of music forever:\u00a0Blue\u00a0(Reprise, 1971). Writing uniquely warm, evocative lyrics and integrating folk guitar, piano, and dulcimer with adventurous harmony,\u00a0Blue\u00a0was widely successful upon its release and continues to influence new works today. 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James Brandon Lewis, the son of a science teacher and a pastor, is uniquely positioned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/a2845957738_101.jpg?fit=810%2C540&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/a2845957738_101.jpg?fit=810%2C540&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/a2845957738_101.jpg?fit=810%2C540&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/a2845957738_101.jpg?fit=810%2C540&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11412,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11411\/revisions\/11412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}