I Hear The Sound

ARCHIE SHEPP ATTICA BLUES ORCHESTRA: I Hear the Sound
ArchieBall, 2013

BIG BAND – In 1972, sax firebrand Archie Shepp recorded Attica Blues, a genre-smashing blend of modern jazz, poetry and heavy funk inspired by the infamous Attica Prison riot and massacre. Revisiting the album 40 years on for a series of concerts in France, an older, bluesier Shepp digs down to the roots of the material with a 26-piece orchestra. There are some rough edges but the band sounds great. All FCC clean.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8

1. 8:03 – old-school funky jam: fem chorus/gruff lead vox; horns stalk & growl
2. 7:31 – half-sung, half-spoken vocal in a sad ballad surge with strings
3. 6:56 – catchy soul stroll, fem chorus, sax testifies, everyone gets a piece
4. 6:36 – Ellington spiritual, slow with a creaky dignity, excellent duet vocal
5. 6:53 – damn… deep intro, then blues stroll with hot trumpet & sax breaks
6. 9:12 – big orchestral sound: dreamy vocal rises up; saxes get twisty
7. 5:48 – slow and careful; elastic fem vocal, melancholy sax
8. 5:42 – bright waltz, elaborate arrangement, duet vocal, soprano sax
9. 8:16 – instrumental: perky orchestra dances with soprano sax, nice piano
10. 5:04 – duet vocals over gentle, dreamy strings/guitar, gets bluesy
11. 7:03 – funky strut, rockin’ sax & trombone, blues vocals in 2nd half

[ Fo ] - 30 January 2014