
Pierre’s virtuosity is showcased throughout, not in a flashy way, but in his deft and powerful pizzicato; his rich upright bass tone adds layers of feeling and meaning to these interpretations, many of which take on added resonance in the Black Lives Matter era. The bassist establishes a swift pace on an exuberant read of Marley’s “Could You Be Loved,” and Douglas jumps right in, riding the groove and playfully intoning the repeated “couldja” lyric as if she were scatting. The album’s title alludes to Marley’s tune “400 Years” — referring to the institution of slavery in the New World — which crops up in three brief interludes, even as lawmakers in the U.S. battle to control the narrative of this history as it’s taught to school children.