Doug Carn - 1973 - Revelation

Doug Carn

1973

Revelation

01. God Is One 1:42
02. Power And Glory 7:57
03. Revelation 3:43
04. Naima 4:28
05. Fatherhood 4:15
06. Contemplation 4:08
07. Feel Free 9:20
08. Time Is Running Out 3:55
09. Jihad 7:24

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Rene McClean
Bass – Walter Booker
Drums – Ira Williams
Guitar – Nathan Page
Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer – Doug Carn
Trumpet [Bass] – Earl McIntyre
Trumpet, Horn [Alto] – Olu Dara
Vocals – Jean Carn, Olu Dara, Rene McClean

The Black Jazz recordings of Doug Carn are always a revelation – some of the most powerful, progressive work on the American underground of the early 70s – music that got Carn into way more record collections than you might expect! The sound here is a perfect summation of Doug's early genius – his own work on organ and keyboards, never overdone and mixed perfectly with a righteous array of acoustic sounds from Rene McLean on alto and tenor and Olu Dara on trumpet – both players who soar to the skies on waves of energy begun by Carn! Wife Jean Carn sings on a number of tracks – with this heavenly style that's mighty righteous – every bit as soulful as her later work at Philly International, but in a very different way.

In the 1960's there began what can only be described as a spiritual revolution among jazz musicians. Spearheaded by the likes of Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Saunders, etc. jazz became a means for social change and a vehicle for spiritual elightenment.

"Revelation" by Doug Carn was a lost masterpiece of this era. Apart from the top rate songwriting and musicianship, this recording demonstrates and evokes in the listener a joy and an elevation of the spirit and heart that is sadly lacking on most music.

Jazz musicians and audiences would do well to remember that this music means a triumph of the spirit and dignity of the human being over opression and despair. This cannot be accomplished by that trumpet player whose docility is being exploited by that large classical music venue in New York City; or the hoards of bebop nazis who think that the development of jazz ended in 1964.

Dawoud Kringle