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d i s s i d e n t
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a r t i s t : Archie Shepp
t i t l e : Attica Blues
d a t e : 2003
l a b e l : Impulse
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2003
t r a c k s : 10
b i t r a t e : 192kbps
s i z e : 51,4 MB
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Refining his large-ensemble experiments of 1971, Attica Blues
is one of Archie Shepp's most significant post-'60s statements,
recorded just several months after authorities ended the Attica
prison uprising by massacring 43 inmates and hostages. Perhaps
because Shepp's musical interests were changing, Attica Blues
isn't the all-out blast of rage one might expect; instead, it's
a richly arranged album of mournful, quietly agonized blues and
Ellingtonian swing, mixed with a couple of storming funk
burners. Of course, Shepp doesn't quite play it straight,
bringing his avant-garde sensibilities to both vintage big band
and contemporary funk, with little regard for the boundaries
separating them all. His soloing on tenor and soprano is
typically sharp-edged and modal, and his nasal, slicing tone on
soprano is featured quite heavily. The stylishness of the slow
numbers is undercut with quivering, faintly unsettling
dissonances, and the up-tempo funk cuts recall the way Sly
Stone's arrangements ping-ponged many different elements off
each other in a gleeful organized chaos. That's especially true
on the gospel-inflected title song, a monster of a groove that
later became a hit on the acid jazz revival circuit (and stands
up to anything recorded by straight-up funk bands of the era).
In the same vein, "Blues for Brother George Jackson" sounds
like an edgier Isaac Hayes-style blaxploitation soundtrack cut.
Vocal ballads are plentiful, and Joe Lee Wilson ("Steam," a
song Shepp would return to often) and Carl Hall (aka Henry
Hull) both acquit themselves well; more debatable are the
poetic recitations and the choice of flⁿgelhornist/composer Cal
Massey's young son Waheeda to sing "Quiet Dawn" (although
Waheeda's almost-there intonation is effectively creepy).
Still, in the end, Attica Blues is one of Shepp's most
successful large-group projects, because his skillful handling
of so many different styles of black music produces such
tremendously groovy results. - Steve Huey
Walter Davis - Piano, Piano (Electric)
Clarence White - Sax (Alto)
John Blake - Violin
Marion Brown - Flute, Percussion, Sax (Alto), Soloist, Bamboo
Flute
Dave Burrell - Piano (Electric)
Beaver Harris - Drums
Billy Higgins - Drums
Leroy Jenkins - Violin
Archie Shepp - Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Clifford Thornton - Cornet
Roland Alexander - Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Cal Massey - Flugelhorn, Soloist
Jimmy Garrison - Bass
Kiane Zawadi - Trombone, Soloist
Ollie Anderson - Percussion
Joshie Armstead - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Roy Burrowes - Trumpet
Walter Davis, Jr. - Piano (Electric)
Nene DeFense - Percussion
Cornell Dupree - Guitar
Romulus Franceschini - Conductor, Vocals
Bazzi Bartholomew Gray - Narrator, Text
Charles "Majid" Greenlee - Trombone
Henry Hull - Vocals
Hakim Jami - Euphonium
Gerald Jemmott - Bass, Soloist
Ronald Lipscomb - Cello, Viola
Waheeda Massey - Vocals
Tony May - Engineer
Charles McGhee - Trumpet, Soloist
Ed Michel - Producer, Original Recording Producer
Michael Ridley - Trumpet
Albertine Robinson - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Calo Scott - Cello, Viola
Lakshminarayana Shankar - Violin
Charles Stephens - Trombone, Soloist
Juma Sutan - Percussion
James Ware - Sax (Baritone)
Joe Lee Wilson - Vocals
Roland Wilson - Bass, Bass (Electric), Guitar (Bass)
Bill Robinson - Sax (Tenor)
Charles Stewart - Photography
Suha Gur - Reissue Mastering
Hollis King - Reissue Art Director
Billy Robinson - Sax (Tenor)
Juma Sultan - Percussion
Bryan Koniarz - Reissue Producer
Sherniece Smith - Reissue Art Director
Ken Druker - Executive Producer
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01-Attica Blues [04:47]
02-Invocation-Attica Blues [00:19]
03-Steam (Part 1) [05:07]
04-Invocation To Mr. Parker [03:16]
05-Steam (Part 2) [05:10]
06-Blues For Brother George Jackson [04:00]
07-Invocation-Ballad For A Child [00:29]
08-Ballad For A Child [03:36]
09-Good Bye Sweet Pops [04:22]
10-Quiet Dawn [06:12]
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37:18 min
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