Books/articles about spirituals?

[ghost of miles]

Hey all, I'm working on a Night Lights program about jazz interpretations of spirituals... does anybody know of a good book/article/reference resource on spirituals and their origins (referring to specific spirituals)?

[brownie]

It's been a long time since I read it but I would consider getting a look at Eileen Southern's 'The Music of Black Americans, a History'. She deals with spirituals at length.

[ghost of miles]

Thanks much, Brownie--looks like the local library has a copy of that on the shelf, so I'm going to hop on my eco-friendly vehicle (a.k.a. "bike" ) and go down there to pick it up. Pulled Grant Green's FEELIN' THE SPIRIT, Ayler's GOIN' HOME, Haden/Jones' STEAL AWAY, and UGMAA doing "Motherless Child" off the shelf when I left the house today... hunting around right now for a copy of Shepp/Parlan. A last-minute taping substitution, as you might gather...

[brownie]

Ghost, you might also give a listen to the album 'Roots' by the Prestige All Stars

It includes an intriguing arrangement of 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child' by Alonzo Levister!

[AllenLowe]

you can't really isolate spirituals from the whole gospel tradition - and the whole vocal quartet history - the single best work that I have read on this is Kip Lornell's - will have to get the title and report back; beware, because it's a subject with a lot of bad writing on it -

Edited March 13, 2007 by AllenLowe

[AllenLowe]

Happy in the Service of the Lord - by Kip Lornell.

And anything by Doug Seroff (that is, if you can find anything) -

[Chuck Nessa]

Books! Yes, that's the ticket.

Shepp/Parlan isn't far below the surface.

[Chuck Nessa]

Did anyone mention Albert Ayler?

[ghost of miles]

Did anyone mention Albert Ayler?

Yes indeed, a bit upstream the thread... GOIN' HOME one of the first albums that came to mind. (Don't know if that was its original title--I have the Black Lion CD. Wasn't this session the flipside to WITCHES & DEVILS?) This show's for the upcoming Easter weekend.

Thanks for the rec, Allen. I remembered that Armstrong did some spirituals back in the 1930s for Decca (also in the 1950s with LOUIS & THE GOOD BOOK); also Ellington for the FDR memorial broadcast, and then there's the Fats Waller material as well. A friend of mine mentioned a Teagarden LP from the 1950s too.

[Chuck Nessa]

Did anyone mention Albert Ayler?

Yes indeed, a bit upstream the thread... GOIN' HOME one of the first albums that came to mind. (Don't know if that was its original title--I have the Black Lion CD. Wasn't this session the flipside to WITCHES & DEVILS?) This show's for the upcoming Easter weekend.

Recorded the same day as Witches and Devils but NEVER the flipside. It was first issued (from cassette dubs) on Osmosis vinyl. Eventually Black Lion/Freedom (actual owners) brought it out with some alts.

Maybe you had to be there.

I re-state my recommendation for the Shepp/Parlan Goin' Home on SteepleChase.

Also, how 'bout Booker T. "Go Tell It on the Mountain". That should mix things up.

You might also play

[ghost of miles]

Did anyone mention Albert Ayler?

Yes indeed, a bit upstream the thread... GOIN' HOME one of the first albums that came to mind. (Don't know if that was its original title--I have the Black Lion CD. Wasn't this session the flipside to WITCHES & DEVILS?) This show's for the upcoming Easter weekend.

Recorded the same day as Witches and Devils but NEVER the flipside.

That's what I meant--bad choice of metaphor on my part (esp. amongst this crowd ), but my understanding was that this was AA's "nice" session, and that WITCHES & DEVILS--done the same day--was intended to be the more "out" session. And yeah, the Shepp/Parlan you're suggesting is the one I alluded to earlier... I have a buddy here in town who's trying to dig out his copy from the vast vault known as his collection right now.

Edited March 14, 2007 by ghost of miles

[JSngry]

It's Booker T, not E.

I assume you're thinking of Booker Ervin. Booker T (not the one from the MGs) is another player altogether.

[JSngry]

Oops, guess you caught that already. Sorry.

[Lazaro Vega]

David Murray has a release called Speaking In Tongues featuring Fontella Bass possessed by the spirit.

Edited March 14, 2007 by Lazaro Vega

[ghost of miles]

Oops, guess you caught that already. Sorry.

Yeah--shows what happens when you read a post after taking out your contact lenses. I was pulling out my Booker Ervin CDs thinking "WTF, Booker recorded 'Go Tell It On the Mountain'? How did I miss that one?"

Booker T. was actually a student here at IU in the mid-1960s. Our former station manager was one of his teachers over at the School of Music... told me recently he had no clue as to who Booker was, just that he often said he'd be missing Friday or Monday classes because he had to go down south for the weekend on a business trip... (recording hit singles, of course--should've gotten some kind of extracurricular credit for that, don'tcha think?)

[ghost of miles]

BTW, the CD that comes with that new Isoardi book about Horace Tapscott includes a really good version of a Tapscott small group doing "Motherless Child" circa 1995 with Dwight Tribble on vocals.

[Free For All]

There's a nice (but brief, 2:43) version of Motherless Child on a Ron Carter CD called "Parade" from 1979 w/Joe Henderson, Chick Corea and Tony Williams (with horns arranged by Wade Marcus, the guy who arranged for those Horace Silver "Silver and......" 70s Blue Notes, which I'm still hoping are reissued on CD).

[JSngry]

Booker T. was actually a student here at IU in the mid-1960s. Our former station manager was one of his teachers over at the School of Music... told me recently he had no clue as to who Booker was, just that he often said he'd be missing Friday or Monday classes because he had to go down south for the weekend on a business trip... (recording hit singles, of course--should've gotten some kind of extracurricular credit for that, don'tcha think?)

Still a differnt Booker T.

Try this Booker T. : http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=13986

And this album: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:ex6uakok5m3l

[ghost of miles]

Gotcha--much admiration for the Silkheart label, but I'll confess unfamiliarity (obviously) with Mr. Williams. I'll keep an eye out for it, though; that's the kind of title Jason might even have in stock down at Landlocked.

Just pulled out another one I should've copped to immediately--Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a Jubilee broadcast of "Down By the Riverside" with Lucky Millinder.

[AllenLowe]

1) hey chuck - he did ask: "book/article/reference resource"

2) if you want an amazing musician who is not really jazz but really the most powerful "transitional" figure I have ever heard, look for Utah Smith, a guitar-evangelist - you can find his entire ouvre (6 recordings) on the JSP Guitar Preacher 4 cd set, in excellent sound (Volume 1) - plays electric, sounds amazingly like Jimi Hendrix, AND is the firtst guitarist I have heard who played octaves (recordings are fom the late 1940s, early 1950s) - a weird hybrid of country and blues and gospel, one of my favorite musicians -

[ep1str0phy]

BTW, the CD that comes with that new Isoardi book about Horace Tapscott includes a really good version of a Tapscott small group doing "Motherless Child" circa 1995 with Dwight Tribble on vocals.

I've heard Trible perform that one live a few times. The dynamics he gets out of his voice (and that tune) are unbelieveable.

[alocispepraluger102]

shoot over to the cleveland bop stop for a live 'reading' of the spirituals.

3/28/2007

The Music Of Paul Ferguson: A Spiritual Weekend Jazz Treat

**The Wonderful Music of the CJO's Paul Fergusonon Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7 at the Bop Stop, 8:00pm.**

The Next CJO Bop Stop Series Concert; including jazz charts heavily influenced by sacred and spiritual music. Perfect for Easter weekend.

As many of you know, Paul is not only our lead trombonist, but one of the finest jazz composers and arrangers in the country. Paul will be leading the CJO on April 6 and 7. We'll be performing Paul's compositions and arrangements, including

a second set featuring Paul's spiritually-influenced jazz charts based on traditional sacred music. This is a special jazz treat on Easter weekend!

Guest vocalists during this weekend will be Barbara Knight and Helen Welch. We'll also be featuring Paul's wife Kay Ferguson on flute in the second set each evening. Mary Kay is an outstanding flutist and will be an intriguing addition to the concert for the spiritually-influenced jazz charts in the second set.

Barbara and Helen have both recorded their own CDs with the CJO and each regularly appear with the band.

Mary Kay Ferguson is founder and flutist with Panoramicos, Cleveland's new Chamber Music Collaborative, ("Best of North America"- Grammophone Magazine) Principal Flutist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, with which she has been a featured soloist at Severance Hall. She plays flute and piccolo in the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, a Grammy Award-winning New Music Ensemble, as well as in Red{an orchestra}, the Akron Symphony, Lyric Opera ,Cleveland Ballet, Playhouse Square Orchestra, and the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra. She has perfomed with the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, and the Toledo Symphony. She was a prize winner in the National Flute Association's Piccolo Artist Competition, and the Tuesday Musical Club Competition. Ferguson teaches privately at the University of Akron, the Western Reserve Acadamy, and her home studio. She coaches chamber music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Currently she serves as Chair of the Piccolo Committee for the NFA.

Tickets are $30 and are available online here or by calling the CJO at 440-942-9525 and selecting option 3.

Complimentary valet parking is available at the Bop Stop. Owners Anita Nonneman and Ron Busch provide this service for you and ask only thatyou tip the valet staff. Plenty of free street parking is also available.

Doors open at 7:00pm and will be locked until that time. An appetizer and light dinner menu is available, as always, along with complete bar service.

As with all CJO concerts, this will be one from which you will emergesaying to yourself,"Am I glad I came to this concert!" You'll not hear the likes of this anywhere else.

[ghost of miles]

Sounds great, A--the Night Lights "Jazz, Spiritually Speaking" program airs Easter weekend as well (Saturday, April 6).

[Parkertown]

Howdy GOM,

I only just found this thread...

I don't know nuthin' about spirituals, but a lady I know who just retired is a member of a singing group in the Denver area called "The Spirituals Project."

Here's their website:

http://spiritualsproject.org/

Perhaps they could be of help somehow...

Good luck!

[Simon Weil]

Hey all, I'm working on a Night Lights program about jazz interpretations of spirituals... does anybody know of a good book/article/reference resource on spirituals and their origins (referring to specific spirituals)?

Sorry - I missed this thread as well, but Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, Black Folk Music to the Civil War by Dena J. Epstein is absolutely incomparable. She basically trawled through the source literature ("slave narratives, travel accounts, memoirs, letters, novels, church histories and polemics on slavery") for 20 years or so. It's so rich, this book...And her analytic stuff is good. The first-hand accounts are just great.

This is one of those books to own, IMO.

Simon Weil

Edited March 30, 2007 by Simon Weil