Description
Archie Shepp: Kwanza – Unfettered Free Jazz and African-American Celebration CD
UPC: 0602517050396
MPN: AS-9262
Brand Name: Impulse! (A Universal Music Company)
Overview
Archie Shepp's Kwanza is a powerful and unique collection of late-sixties tracks that serves as a musical celebration of African and African-American culture, much like the holiday for which it is named. This free jazz CD captures the uncompromising vision of the revered saxophonist and composer, covering a strikingly broad emotional and stylistic range. The album moves effortlessly from down-home funk grooves to intense, unfettered free improvisation, showcasing the breadth of post-bop and Avant-garde jazz of the era. Featuring an incredible collective personnel of jazz greats, Kwanza is an essential listen for those seeking deep, genre-bending experimental jazz recordings.
Product Features
- Format: Compact Disc (CD), Stereo
- Genre: Jazz, Free Jazz, Avant-garde Jazz, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz
- Total Length: 46:16 (approximate total time from track list)
- Catalogue Number: AS-9262 (Original), 0602517050396 (Reissue)
- Release Year: 1974 (Original LP release), 2006 (CD Reissue)
- Key Artists: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone, vocal)
- Style: African-American Cultural Jazz, Experimental, Down-home Funk
Interesting Facts
Archie Shepp is one of the most intellectually and politically significant figures in Avant-garde Jazz. Kwanza, though released in 1974, comprises tracks recorded across 1968 and 1969, a politically charged and highly creative time for Shepp. The album's title, Kwanza, refers to the annual celebration of African-American culture, illustrating Shepp's commitment to themes of black identity and liberation through his music. The recording is notable for its massive and varied collective personnel, featuring jazz legends like Woody Shaw, Grachan Moncur III, James Spaulding, Dave Burrell, and Cedar Walton. The inclusion of R&B and soul vocalists like Leon Thomas adds a unique, blues-infused, and earthy quality to tracks like "Back Back," contrasting sharply with the radical experimentation found elsewhere, making this a highly diverse and influential Impulse! Records jazz classic.
Track Listing
- Back Back - 5:45
- Spoo Pee Doo - 2:37
- New Africa - 12:49
- Slow Drag - 10:08
- Bakai - 9:57
Collective Personnel (Recorded September 1968, February & August 1969 in New York City):
- Trumpet: Martin Banks, Jimmy Owens, Woody Shaw
- Trombone: Matthew Gee, Grachan Moncur III
- Flute: Robin Kenyatta
- Alto Saxophone: Clarence Sharpe, James Spaulding
- Baritone Saxophone: Charles Davis, Cecil Payne
- Piano/Organ: Andrew Bey, Cedar Walton, Dave Burrell
- Guitar: Bert Payne, Wally Richardson
- Bass: Walter Booker, Bob Bushnell, Wilbur Ware, Albert Winston
- Drums: Joe Chambers, Beaver Harris, Bernard Purdie
- Vocal: Leon Thomas, Tasha Thomas, Doris Troy
Publishers
Label: Impulse! Original Recording Producer: Bob Thiele and Ed Michel Copyright: (P) 1974 The Verve Music Group. (C) 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. Manufacture: Made in the EU
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