Archie Shepp - 1972 - The Cry Of My People

Archie Shepp

1972

The Cry Of My People

01. Rest Enough (Song To Mother) 4:38

02. A Prayer 6:29

03. All God's Children Got A Home In The Universe 2:57

04. The Lady 5:28

05. The Cry Of My People 5:43

06. African Drum Suite, Part 1 0:35

07. African Drum Suite, Part 2 7:32

08. Come Sunday 9:30

Bass – Jimmy Garrison (tracks: A2, A4 to B4)

Bass [Fender] – Ron Carter (tracks: A1, A3, B1)

Cello – Esther Mellon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4)

Cello – Pat Dixon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4)

Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: A3 to B1)

Drums – Bernard Purdie (tracks: A1, A2)

Guitar – Cornell Dupree (tracks: A1, A3)

Percussion – Nene DeFense (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B4)

Piano – Dave Burrell (tracks: B2. B3)

Piano – Harold Mabern (tracks: A1 to B1, B4)

Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp (tracks: A2, A4, B3)

Tambourine – Nene DeFense (tracks: A1, A3)

Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (tracks: A3, A4, B1, B4)

Trombone – Charles Greenlee (tracks: A2 to B3)

Trombone – Charles Stephens (tracks: A2 to B1, B4)

Trumpet – Charles McGhee (tracks: A2 to B1, B3, B4)

Violin – Gayle Dixon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4)

Violin – Jerry Little (tracks: A4, B3, B4)

Violin – John Blake (tracks: A2, B1)

Violin – Leroy Jenkins (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4)

Violin – Lois Siessinger (tracks: A2, B1)

Violin – Noel DaCosta (tracks: A4, B3, B4)

Vocals – Andre Franklin (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B3)

Vocals – Patterson Singers (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B3)

Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson

Black center labels with neon Impulse! logo beside white ABC logo.

Recorded September 25-27, 1972, at Allegro Sound Studios, New York City. Mixed at The Village Recorder, Los Angeles.

This is a truly stupendous album from Mr. Shepp, which masterfully brings together all genres of African American music (up to the early 70's). The album is akin to "Attica Blues" and features many of the same musicians, including Joe Lee Wilson's incredible vocals. It also features more compositions by Cal Massey, a man who worked wonders alongside Shepp. Where this album differs from "Attica Blues" is that it features slightly less funk and free jazz, and has more of a gospel influence which permeates throughout.

Compositional credits include two songs by Archie Shepp, two by Cal Massey, two by Beaver Harris, one by Ford and one by Ellington. Having come to love "Attica Blues" before purchasing this disc, my favourite songs are those by Shepp and Massey. To my ears they've got the most swing and emotional colouring, though "The Lady" is quite stunning (particularly Wilson's vocals), and "Come Sunday" makes for a great closer. The album ebbs and flows in all the right places, and seems to have a perfect inner logic. It takes the listener along on a journey, and establishes a mood and headspace which are simply infectious once the disc starts spinning. While the album really works as a whole, there are some sections that really stand out and make you take notice: The astounding gospel-inflected vocals and horn parts on "All God's Children got a Home in the Universe", the latin-flavoured swing section (and incredible bass playing therein) on "A Prayer", and both the tempo change and haunting final vocal note of "The Lady" (which still sends shivers every time I hear it).

In all, I would highly recommend this album to anyone with an interest in the ouevre of Mr. Shepp, or in the eclectic nature of "jazz" music in the 1970's. If you like "Attica Blues" and are looking for a next album to turn to, this is definitely it. I know there are others from this era, but they are unfortunately out of print or in a state of flux. Enjoy this aural lesson in African American musical identity, and let it move you.

Archie Shepp - 1972 - Attica Blues

Archie Shepp

1972

Attica Blues

01. Attica Blues 4:49

02. Invocation: Attica Blues 0:18

03. Steam, Part 1 5:08

04. Invocation To Mr. Parker 3:17

05. Steam, Part 2 5:10

06. Blues For Brother George Jackson 4:00

07. Invocation: Ballad For A Child 0:30

08. Ballad For A Child 3:37

09. Good Bye Sweet Pops 4:23

10. Quiet Dawn 6:12

Backing Vocals – Albertine Robinson (tracks: A1)

Backing Vocals – Joshie Armstead (tracks: A1)

Bass – Jimmy Garrison (tracks: A3, A4, A5, B4, B5)

Bass – Jerry Jemmott (tracks: A1)

Bass – Roland Wilson (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B1, B3)

Cello – Calo Scott (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5)

Bass – Ronald Lipscomb (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5)

Conductor – Romulus Franceschini (tracks: B4, B5)

Cornet – Clifford Thornton (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B1, B3)

Drums – Billy Higgins (tracks: B4, B5)

Euphonium – Hakim Jami (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

lugelhorn – Cal Massey (tracks: B5)

Flute – Marion Brown (tracks: A4)

Guitar – Cornell Dupree (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3)

Narrator – Bartholomew Gray (tracks: A4)

Drums – William Kunstler (tracks: A2, B2)

Percussion – Juma Sutan (tracks: A1, B1, B5)

Percussion – Marion Brown (tracks: A3, A4, A5)

Percussion – Nene DeFense (tracks: A1, B1, B5)

Percussion – Ollie Anderson (tracks: A1, B1, B5)

Piano – Walter Davis Jr. (tracks: B1, B3, B4, B5)

Piano [Electric] – Dave Burrell (tracks: A3, A5)

Piano [Electric] – Walter Davis Jr. (tracks: A1, B1)

Saxophone [Alto] – Clarence White (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Saxophone [Alto] – Marion Brown (tracks: A1, B1)

Saxophone [Baritone] – James Ware (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Saxophone [Soprano] – Archie Shepp (tracks: A3, A5, B4)

Saxophone [Tenor] – Archie Shepp (tracks: A1, B1, B3, B5)

Saxophone [Tenor] – Billy Robinson (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Saxophone [Tenor] – Roland Alexander (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trombone – Charles Greenlee (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trombone – Charles Stephens (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trombone – Kiane Zawadi (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trumpet – Charles McGhee (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trumpet – Michael Ridley (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Trumpet – Roy Burrowes (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B5)

Violin – John Blake (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5)

Violin – Leroy Jenkins (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5)

Violin – Shankar (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5)

Vocals – Henry Hull (tracks: A1, B3)

Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson (tracks: A3, A5)

Vocals – Waheeda Massey (tracks: B5)

Recorded January 24, 25, and 26, 1972, at A&R Recording, New York. Engineering by Tony May, assisted by Eddie Sepanski.

Attica: a cultural context

The album title references the Attica prison riots and dedicates another track “Blues for Brother George Jackson” to George Jackson, a petty criminal turned Marxist revolutionary whose death in San Quentin prison in controversial circumstances allegedly sparked the Attica riots. From this distance in time and geography these read to me like events elevated for their cultural symbolic value, high above their moral tide mark, but such is the power of the narrative. They have provided rich material for Hollywood screenwriters and protest singers like Bob Dylan and John Lennon, and here, Archie Shepp. (Lennon might not have appreciated the irony that Mark Chapman, his assassin, went on to serve his sentence in Attica)

This is a beautiful album that has a variety of influences in Duke Ellington, Sly and the Family Stone, John Coltrane, and early 70's R&B, but ultimately, this has album has its own unique voice.

It opens up with the fiery funk-and-gospel number, "Attica Blues", written in response to the Attica Prison massacre, which contains a plea for equality repeated over and over again ("If I had the chance to make the decision, every man could walk this earth in equal condition...") with some great blues soloing by Shepp and others (too far in the back of the mix for my taste) over a funk rhythm section with big band horns. It is an explosive and effective opener.

Next up is "Steam", which I remember reading somewhere is a tribute to Shepp's 15-year old cousin whom was murdered. It is a very strange track. It is simultaneously beautiful and hard-edged. It sounds like Kenny G on acid with a good dose of soulfulness and talent added in. While strings often = commercialism, on this song this is not the case at all. The strings' intonation is off (probably on purpose), the vocals quickly contrast between harshness and smoothness, and Shepp's soprano goes between hard-edged, lyrical, and somewhere between the two, creating a song that quickly transitions from mournful, to ugly, to soaring. It's power lies mostly in its contrasts, which are all effective.

After the two parts of "Steam", with a little beat poetry about Charlie Parker over some cool Jimmy Garrison bass playing in between the two parts, is the great "Blues for Brother George Jackson", a tribute to the "Soledad Brother". This has some more great soloing that stretches the blues, especially by Shepp.

Next there's the most traditionally beautiful track on the album, "Ballad for a Child", which has some very nice R&B/Gospel styled vocals, some touching lyrics about the miracle of human life, and tasteful playing by the instrumentalists.

After that is what I consider to be the highlight of the album, "Good Bye Sweet Pops", a tribute to the recently deceased Louis Armstrong. On it is beautiful and anguished playing by Shepp on soprano and a gorgeous and rich arrangement by the song's composer, the underrated composer, arranger, and trumpeter Cal Massey.

The last song is another Massey contribution, "Quiet Dawn". It is another piece where questionable intonation is used to create an edge to an otherwise beautiful song in the form of the lead vocals by Massey's young daughter. It also features a little flugelhorn by the under-recorded Massey as he doubles the melody with his daughter, possibly to help lead her through the song.

Like the times it was recorded in, this album is ugly, confused, and beautiful. It is a great example of the idea that out of great tragedy is born great art.

Archie Shepp - 1971 - Things Have Got To Change

Archie Shepp 

1971

Things Have Got To Change

01. Money Blues (Part One) 5:51
02. Money Blues (Part Two) 5:45
03. Money Blues (Part Three) 6:37
04. Dr. King, The Peaceful Warrior 2:29
05. Things Have Got To Change (Part One) 8:15
06. Things Have Got To Change (Part Two) 7:57

Electric Piano – Cal Massey
Cello – Calo Scott
Violin – Leroy Jenkins
Bass – Roland Wilson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Electric Piano – Dave Burrell (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Guitar – Billy Butler (tracks: A1 to A3)

Guitar – David Spinozza (tracks: A1 to A3)
Percussion – Calo Scott (tracks: A1 to A3)

Percussion – Hetty 'Bunchy' Fox (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Percussion – Juma Sutan (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Ollie Anderson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Alto], Flute [Piccolo] – James Spaulding (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Baritone] – Howard Johnson (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Trombone – Grechan Moncur III (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Trumpet – Roy Burrowes (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Trumpet – Ted Daniel (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson (tracks: A1 to A3)
Backing Vocals – Anita Branham (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Anita Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Barbara Parsons (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Claudette Brown (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Ernestina Parsons (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Jody Shayne (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Johnny Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Backing Vocals – Sharon Shepp (tracks: A1 to A3, B2, B3)

Recorded 17th May, 1971 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, N. J.

Archie Shepp had the knack of simultaneously sounding nothing like anything he'd done before, but at the same time sounding totally familiar. So it is with this classic impulse! session from 1971, precursor of the following year's more well known 'Attica Blues'.

The lineup is extensive, being a who's who of the players Shepp had worked with over the previous few years. That might lead you to expect more outside playing, but the emphasis here is much more rhythmic, with a strong soul/R&B flavour. It's the free-jazz album Stevie Wonder would have made in 1971, had he put his mind to it.

The theme is the Blues, of course - it always is in Shepp's music. Oppression, poverty, violence; it's all here, Shepp's socially conscious vision telling it like it is with great passion. Standout track here is the title cut; an extended jam that begins quietly with some early electronica, providing a backdrop to a tune u could hum and a steady increase in intensity, culminating in the choir's mantra "Goddammit! Things Got To Change!". From there the improvisers are unleashed, with Shepp serving up one of his characteristically savage solos, railing against the oppression of his people. Contrast this with the neat and tidy playing of "Dr. King", a duet between Shepp and Cal Massey on rhodes that manages to be tender, yet incisive at the same time, setting the listener up nicely for the main event that follows.

And 'Money Blues' - "I work all day, I don't get paid, Money, Money, Money" - not only the root of all evil but also the root of much misery. Someone pay the man (but make sure he keeps on singing).

Archie Shepp - 1971 - Live In Antibes

Archie Shepp And The Full Moon Ensemble

1971

Live In Antibes

Live In Antibes - Volume 1 (Actuel 38)

101. The Early Bird - Part 1

102. The Early Bird - Part 2

Live In Antibes - Volume 2 (Actuel 39)

201. Huru - Part 1

202. Huru - Part 2

Bass – Beb Guérin

Drums – Claude Delcloo

Flugelhorn, Voice – Alan Shorter

Guitar – Joseph Dujean

Tenor Saxophone, Piano, Vocals – Archie Shepp

Trombone, Shenai, Piano – Clifford Thornton

Recorded live at Antibes - Juan les Pins jazz festival, July 18, 1970 [CD1] and July 20, 1970 [CD2]

Like many saxophonists and jazz musicians in general, Archie Shepp moved to New York City in 1959 in search of becoming a professional musician. Things moved slowly, but by 1965 he had performed with pianist Cecil Taylor and had made the acquaintance of several musicians in the burgeoning free jazz or "new thing" cadre. Most importantly was his relationship with the great saxophonist John Coltrane who recommended him for Impulse Records. Shepp recorded for about a decade with Impulse, but also for other labels like BYG/Actuel which released this concert featuring Shepp on tenor saxophone, piano and vocals, Clifford Thornton on trumpet and piano, Alan Shorter on flugelhorn, Joseph Dejean on guitar, Beb Guerin on bass and Claude Delcloo on drums. The album is taken from two concerts at the French jazz festival in 1970 with "The Early Bird: Parts 1 and 2" on the first disc and then "Huru: Parts 1 and 2" on the second disc. The music is very wide open and seems use piano as its anchor, with either Shepp or Thornton laying down massive slabs of dark keyboards that lock in with the deeply percussive bass and drums to give the music a haunting and hypnotic effect. Shepp takes a lengthy saxophone solo on "Huru: Part One" where he ranges from deep guttural moans to high energy squalls and howls. "The Early Bird" he incorporates vocals and shouts from his composition "Mama Rose" into the overall fabric of the performance. This is a very interesting and freewheeling set of music. It is a fine example of the way that jazz had evolved in the early 1970's. Incorporating elements of African music as well as the past and present in jazz, it makes for compelling listening.

Seminal live set from tenorist Archie Shepp – and some of his freest, least-structured material ever! Shepp's still a righteous force here on his horn, but there also seems to be equal emphasis on the contributions of all members of the group – woven together in a really rich tapestry of sound, but with less of the structuring righteous concepts of some of Archie's other work – especially his sides for Impulse. Shepp had really been experiencing some new freedoms on the French scene of the late 60s – even more so than in the US avant outfield – and you can definitely hear him taking flight here, with a like-minded group of players.

Archie Shepp - 1965 - Fire Music

Archie Shepp

1965

Fire Music

01. Hambone 12:05

02. Los Olvidados 8:36

03. Malcolm, Malcolm, Semper Malcolm 4:40

04. Prelude To A Kiss 4:41

05. The Girl From Ipanema 8:18

Bass – David Izenzon (3)

Drums – J.C. Moses (3)

Alto Saxophone – Marion Brown

Bass – Reggie Johnson

Drums – Joe Chambers

Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp

Trombone – Joseph Orange

Trumpet – Ted Curson

Recorded on February 16 & March 9, 1965.

A Product of ABC-Paramount Records, Inc.

Archie Shepp plays a Selmer Saxophone.

A highly-influential figure in American music and black consciousness, Archie Shepp has been a bold, soulful innovator in his time and Fire Music, just reissued on vinyl, exemplifies that fiery, gutsy spirit. For his peculiarly astringent but soulful brew, Shepp drew on African music, New Orleans jazz and rhythm and blues and the musician was vocal in the struggle against racism and the colour bar in the 1960s. Civil rights were always to the fore as an element in his cutting edge music, as evidenced by Fire Music which first appeared in 1965.

Malcom, Malcom - Semper Malcolm features the saxophonist leader reciting a short poem in honour of the slain Malcolm X before taking up his sax for the music, accompanied by double bass player David Isenzon and the drumming of J.C. Moses.

The album is not an easy listen for the fan who likes tunefulness and smooth rhythms, it must be said. Shepp is more in a Charlie Mingus groove, with little of the accessibility of, say, Miles Davis. In fact, just to cheekily send up any suggestion of prettiness or shimmer, he takes all the sensual sway out of of Girl from Ipanema in his bonkers version which features here. It runs to eight minutes and 33 seconds which may prove a little long for you.

The album, however, opens with Hambone, all free-ranging bittersweet horn harmony riffing across 12 minutes and 28 seconds, led by Shepp's tenor, with Marion Brown on alto sax, Reggie Johnson on bass and Joe Chambers on drums. The same appealing line-up delivers track two, Los Olvidados, a tribute to the 1950 film directed by Luis Buñuel, dealing with the lives of poverty-stricken children in contemporary Mexico.

Fire Music must be one of Shepp’s most interesting albums, blistering and intense, a half-way house between Free and the Avant Garde. The musical territory ranges from the haunting recitation and requiem for Malcolm X (quick history lesson here, it is not what you might assume), to the kitsch reworking of the Girl From Ipanema, with Shepp as Webster/Hawkins reincarnated as Freddie Kreuger’s Nightmare on Elm Street, ripping into the tune at will while caressing it.

Shepp found more ways to force sound from the tenor than probably any other player, punctuating expressive breathiness with shouts, shrieks and dissonaces, sometimes choosing its own direction own irrespective of “the tune”. The septet surrounds him in rich and varied textures, full of surprises, with moments of Mingus but burning bright, angry and on fire, as befits its title, Fire Music.

Commentators often draw connections with this mid-’60s jazz and social/ political issues of the day. Personally I try to treat music as music, not necessarily “better” because of some background social injustice. Possibly controversial, but moral high ground doesn’t confer some magic fairy dust on music. Fire Music stands on its own merits.