Kwanza (album)
Encyclopedia
Kwanza is an album by Archie Shepp
released on Impulse!
in 1974. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with four different ensembles. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "Kwanza may not be one of Shepp's better known recordings, but it is certainly one of his fine ones".
Recorded September 9, 1968 (track 2), February 17, 1969 (track 1) August 26, 1969 (track 4) and February 26, 1969 (tracks 3 & 5).
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
released on Impulse!
Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
in 1974. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with four different ensembles. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "Kwanza may not be one of Shepp's better known recordings, but it is certainly one of his fine ones".
Track listing
All compositions by Archie Shepp except as indicated- "Back Back" - 5:45
- "Spoo Pee Doo" - 2:38
- "New Africa" (Grachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
) - 12:50 - "Slow Drag" - 10:09
- "Bakai" (Cal MasseyCal MasseyCalvin Massey was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.Massey studied trumpet under Freddie Webster, and following this played in the big bands of Jay McShann, Jimmy Heath, and Billie Holiday. In the late 1950s he led an ensemble with Jimmy Garrison, McCoy Tyner, and Tootie Heath; John Coltrane...
) - 9:59
Recorded September 9, 1968 (track 2), February 17, 1969 (track 1) August 26, 1969 (track 4) and February 26, 1969 (tracks 3 & 5).
Personnel
- Archie SheppArchie SheppArchie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
: tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in... - Martin Banks: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
(track 2) - Robin KenyattaRobin KenyattaRobin Kenyatta was an American jazz alto saxophonist.-Career:Born Robert Prince Haynes in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, United States, Kenyatta grew up in New York. He played with Bill Dixon there in the 1960s, playing with his project "The October Revolution in Jazz"...
: alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(track 2) - Andrew BeyAndy BeyAndrew W. Bey is a jazz singer and pianist.Bey has a wide vocal range, with his four octave baritone voice.He worked on a television show, Startime, with Connie Francis and sang for Louis Jordan....
: pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(track 2) - Bert Payne: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(track 2) - Albert Winston: electric bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
, bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(track 2) - Beaver HarrisBeaver HarrisWilliam Godvin "Beaver" Harris was an American jazz drummer, who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.-Biography:...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 2, 3 & 5) - Leon ThomasLeon ThomasAmos Leon Thomas Jr was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois.Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University. In the 1960s he was a vocalist for Count Basie and others....
: lead vocals (track 2) - Tasha ThomasTasha ThomasTasha Thomas was an American singer-songwriter and actress, known for her role as Aunt Em in the original Broadway production of The Wiz. Thomas also had a hit single, "Shoot Me ," from her 1979 album, Midnight Rendezvous.-Music career:Thomas was born in Jeutyn, Alaska...
, Doris TroyDoris TroyDoris Troy was an American R&B singer, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul".She was born as Doris Higginson in The Bronx, the daughter of a Barbadian Pentecostal minister. Her parents disapproved of "subversive" forms of music like rhythm & blues, so she cut her teeth singing in her father's choir...
: backing vocals (track 2) - Jimmy OwensJimmy Owens (jazz)Jimmy Owens is a jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer, and music education consultant. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus ... .In the 1960s,...
: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(tracks 1, 3 & 5) - Grachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
: tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(tracks 1, 3 & 5) - James Spaulding: alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
(track 1) - Charles DavisCharles Davis (saxophonist)Charles Davis is an American jazz baritone saxophonist who performed extensively with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra, among others.-Biography:...
: baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
(tracks 1, 3 & 5) - Dave BurrellDave BurrellDavis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
: organ (track 1), pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(tracks 3 & 5) - Wally Richardson: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(track 1) - Bob Bushnell: electric bass (track 1)
- Bernard PurdieBernard PurdieBernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(track 1) - Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
: bass (tracks 3 & 5) - Woody ShawWoody ShawWoody Shaw was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and band leader, often referred to as the "last innovator" in the jazz trumpet lineage...
: trumpet (track 4) - Matthew GeeMatthew GeeMatthew Gee was an American bebop trombonist and part time actor.Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army...
: tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(track 4) - Clarence Sharpe: alto saxophone
- Cecil PayneCecil PayneCecil Payne was a jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, NY. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute...
: baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, flute (track 4) - Cedar WaltonCedar WaltonCedar Anthony Walton, Junior is an American hard bop jazz pianist.-Biography:Walton grew up in Dallas, Texas. His mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and was Walton's initial teacher. She also took him to jazz performances around Dallas...
: piano (track 4) - Wilbur WareWilbur WareWilbur Ware was an American jazz double-bassist known for his hard bop percussive style.Born in Chicago, Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. In the 1950s, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco...
: bass (track 4) - Joe ChambersJoe ChambersJoe Chambers is an American jazz drummer, pianist, vibraphonist and composer. He attended the Philadelphia Conservatory for one year. In the 1960s and 70s Chambers gigged with many high-profile artists such as Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Lou Donaldson, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre...
: drums (track 4)