I Plan To Stay A Believer: The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield [2CD]

Avant Jazz / Free Improvisation / Avant-Garde
premiera polska: 2021-10-18
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: digipackowe etui
opis:
Editor's info:
I Plan To Stay A Believer is the definitive document of William Parker's The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield project, comprised of exuberant concert recordings spanning the past decade (2001-2008). The project features fully charged interpolations of the mighty songbook of soul music legend Curtis Mayfield by an equally mighty 8-piece band, occasionally accompanied by highly inspired choirs, including two pieces from the group's very first 2001 performance in Paris with a chorus of 90 children and another pair from New York in 2008 which feature a full gospel choir.

Bassist/composer William Parker is among the most active and highly regarded musicians performing today. This is the first project in his 35-year career devoted to the music of another composer. Curtis Mayfield was a prophet, a preacher, a revolutionary, a humanist, and a griot. All are descriptors for William Parker as well.

As Parker writes in the liner notes, "Every song written or improvised has an inside song which lives in the shadows, in-between the sounds and silences and behind the words, pulsating, waiting to be reborn as a new song."

I Plan To Stay A Believer brings Curtis Mayfield's positive messages of hope and fortitude in the face of potentially overwhelming odds back into the present moment where these energies remain in great need.

The group features all long-standing compatriots of Parker's: the peerless rhythm section of Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, along with elder masters Dave Burrell on piano and poet/activist Amiri Baraka. The horn section features saxophonists Sabir Mateen & Darryl Foster and trumpeter Lewis Barnes. Deeply soulful singer Leena Conquest is also featured in Parker's Raining on the Moon group / Corn Meal Dance album singing William's words of deep insight and inspiration. -SJ


"A superb example of how a pop songbook can be transformed into meaningful jazz .. a fierce and awesome display of musical prowess .. among the broadest, deepest and richest listens of 2010."
–JAZZTIMES, Steve Greenlee

"never less than vibrantly alive and utterly suffused with joy."
–THE WIRE, Phil Freeman

"As epic, exciting and life-affirming as any CD set you’re likely to find, this year or any."
–ALL ABOUT JAZZ-NEW YORK, Jeff Stockton

“I wish I could've seen some of these performances in person, because the amount of energy the band packs into them surely must have flowed right into the crowd. Even here, pressed onto little plastic discs, the band practically explodes toward you. .. immense thought and planning clearly went into these arrangements. To pull and stretch these songs so much and still preserve their essential identity is a true feat of art.”
–PITCHFORK, Joe Tangari

".. the essence of the originals, a surging, triumphant life-force, deep-seated humanity and the will to survive that defined Curtis Mayfield's music, also defines these versions. At times we get gospel-tinged uplift, at times we get soulful swing, at times tight soul groove and at times full-blown freak-out, but what never falters is the clear-eyed joy and righteous purpose that has defined the music of both Mayfield and Parker throughout their careers."
–OTHER MUSIC, Josh Madell

"Brilliant, positive, enlightening, spirited – this record is a celebration of life. Highly recommended."
–Monsieur Délire blog, François Couture

"..a musical amalgam both earthly and not of this world. The ground this set covers is considerable, as is the divide it bridges. The fact that it does it with such cathartic joy is extraordinary."
–ALL ABOUT JAZZ, Nic Jones

"Parker's muscular bass forms the central golden thread embroidered through these performances, for the most part swinging with wild abandon, but periodically erupting into spectacular displays of kaleidoscopic bowing, like that which closes out the title cut. .. the uplifting, irrepressible spirit with which Parker [and band] imbues Mayfield's tunes never flags, amply satisfying both head and heart."
–ALL ABOUT JAZZ, John Sharpe

"This full-blooded celebration of Mayfield's oeuvre, complete with an all-star cast, of which vocalist Leena Conquest is on imperious form, interprets several of the most emblematic numbers in his timeless songbook and largely takes them 'outside' of the original form as it endeavors to get right inside the spirit of the music. All of which means that the sturdy, funk backbeat on which so much of Mayfield's music was anchored, often drifts out to a whirlpool of swing which in turn bubbles into some very turbulent free improv. While the rhythm section loosens up, the vocal arrangements heartily uphold Mayfield's roots in gospel, and the use of the choir is strikingly effective ... [oh, and] the use of ripe, rotund Jamaican dub and rippling African balaphone rhythms work a treat on the hypnotic and deeply humane 'New World Order.'
–JAZZWISE (UK), Kevin Le Gendre

and from someone who bought the album and was moved to email us:

Just a brief line to tell you how much I enjoy the double CD of "The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield". Rarely have I fallen in LOVE with a CD this quickly. My thanks to both Mr. Parker [and all the other musicians on the cd] and yourself for issuing such heart felt music.....classic material, beautifully packaged. Curtis must be over the top delighted! –Baruch Zone

muzycy:
William Parker: bass,
doson’ngoni, balofon
Hamid Drake: drums
Dave Burrell: piano
Lewis Barnes: trumpet
Darryl Foster: tenor & soprano sax
Sabir Mateen: alto & tenor sax, flute
Leena Conquest: vocals
Amiri Baraka: voice, poetry
* with guests on select tracks:
Lafayette Gilchrist: piano
Guillermo E. Brown: drums
New Life Tabernacle
Generation of Praise
Choir of Brooklyn, NY

utwory:
CD1:
1. I Plan To Stay A Believer 12.52
2. If There's A Hell Below 21.23
3. We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue 17.41 (MP3 Excerpt)
4. I'm So Proud / Ya He Yey Ya 15.15 (MP3 Excerpt)
5. This Is My Country (Paris) 5.44

CD2:
6. People Get Ready / The Inside Song 14.38
7. This Is My Country (New York) 10.56 (MP3 Excerpt)
8. It's Alright 5.13
9. Move On Up 17.27 (MP3 Excerpt)
10. Freddie's Dead 11.26
11. New World Order 6.59

more info: www.aumfidelity.com