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Gospel-Jazz


Dan Gould

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Listening to Horace Silver's new one on the way to work, I was really digging on the gospel tune, and I'm not even Christian! So, it got me to thinking about doing a compilation CD of gospel-jazz tunes, both vocal and instrumental. So far I've got:

Sunday Mornin' Prayer Meetin', the Horace tune I mentioned above

He Don't Have The Blues Anymore, by Maria Muldauer (not really jazz, it was a tribute to Charles Brown on Maria's Meet Me Where They Play The Blues album, but I dig it a lot, and this is a good place for it)

Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Concord Festival All-Stars (Gene Harris, Red Holloway, Sweets, wail on this one)

Battle Hymn of the Republic, Gene Harris, off the Trio + 1 album

Moanin'

The Preacher

Sister Sadie

Testifyin' (Ralph Moore and Benny Green)

I know I have lots more but I'm hoping people will throw out some suggestions I might overlook.

So let's talk about gospel-jazz. Dig it? Hate it? Can only stand it in small doses? (Who knows, maybe this compilation will demonstrate that ... but I don't think it will ;)

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And look in the used LP bins for Les McCann's "The Gospel Truth," which adds Charles Kynard to his trio.

Thanks for the reminder, I already have that one.

Another Les might be A Little 3/4 for God and Country, and now that I think about it, there's some Curtis Amy I could use, the title track from Meetin' Here.

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Dan, you should check 'Roots' by the Prestige All Stars that has been reissued on OJC. People like Idrees Sulieman, Jimmy Cleveland, Frank Rehak, Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, etc. playing three spirituals: 'Roots', 'Down By The Riverside' and 'M Very inspiring!otherless Child'.

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I've been checking out your board and I registered to suggest that you try the Dirty Dozen Brass Band CD, Funeral for a Friend. Some of the titles are Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Jesus On The Mainline, I'll Fly Away, and Amazing Grace. If you don't want to get up and move to this one, you may be dead.

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I've been checking out your board and I registered to suggest that you try the Dirty Dozen Brass Band CD, Funeral for a Friend. Some of the titles are Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Jesus On The Mainline, I'll Fly Away, and Amazing Grace. If you don't want to get up and move to this one, you may be dead.

Thanks, Nick.

And keep posting!

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Gospel and the blues are so intertwined, I think you could argue that much of jazz is 'gospel jazz'. Some of the more explicit gospel references that come to mind:

Hank Mobley (Roll Call)--Baptist beat

Lee Morgan (Taru)--Dee Lawd

Mary Lou Williams (Black Christ..)--'Praise the Lord' (this is an amazing, toe-tapping cut)

As Nick points out, the New Orleans trad vets do a lot of explicit gospel. One I really enjoy is from Riverside's living legends series (produced by Chris Albertson):

'Jim Robinson Plays Spirtuals and Blues'

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Check out THE WORD at ropeadope.com. You can listen to samples there. you can listen to 30 sec clips of all tracks in the download webpage. This is one of those records that is just beautiful regardless of genre.

John Medeski on organ, The North Mississippi Allstars and featuring Robert Randolph on steel guitar.

The steel guitar is just above bagpipes on my list of most annoying musical instruments but in the hands of this guy it's like the voice of heaven.

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