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Featured
Musicans:
Vocals:
Faye Carol, Jeannine Anderson, Lorin Benedict
Horns:
David Murray & Howard Wiley (saxophones), Geechi Taylor (trumpet),
Danny Armstrong (trombone)
Bass:
David Ewell, Devin Hoff
Violin:
Yerdua Cesear, Vivian McBride
Drums:
Sly Randolph
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Twelve Gates to the City is a very old composition inspired by a
mixture of the Angola prison vocals and church revivals attended by
Howard Wiley as a child. This piece is adapted from a 2005 a
cappella recording from the Angola State Penitentiary.
Angola is Wiley's interpretation of the feeling of no return
as one travels on the state bus on lonely Highway 66. There is
tension and anxiety building en route to Angola State Penitentiary.
The Conversation is based on archival interviews with a prisoner
who came to address the interviewer as "Boss", a slavery term still
used today.
Trouble Of The World is a traditional hymn arranged by Wiley
to cross genres by including a blending of vocals by opera singer
Jeannine Anderson and soulful Faye Carol, along with trombonist,
Danny Armstrong. The result is "transcendent spirituality".
Peace, composed by Ornette Coleman, is dedicated to Wiley's
Great Uncle Eddie Wiley, who passed in 2006.
Rosie is based upon
recordings of work songs, with Wiley removing the traditional call
and response element from the originals, replacing it with an
ensemble holler accentuated by Sly Randolph's snare drum.
Though the same tools of field laborer's exist today, younger
inmates began to refuse to sing in the traditional manner as a means
of protest and due to their historical links to slavery.
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No More My Lord is
a seven bar blues that is a true representation of the duality of
Afro-American expression of faithful love and pain. Wiley's
arrangement is based on a solo version sung by an inmate named
Jimpson and an axe gang recorded by Alan Lomax.
Rise & Fly was recorded by Folklorist Dr. Harry Oster at
Angola in 1959. This unique arrangement by Wiley mixes prison
imagery, work songs, ring shouts and toasting traditions.
Amazing Grace is probably the most well-known hymn in
Christianity and Wiley's arrangement is an expression of the
hypocrisy behind composer John Newton's motivation. The
arrangement expresses the perspective of thousands of souls doomed
to a life of bondage and brings to light the reality of what has
been done to "others" in the name of God.
Second Line (The Mardi Gras Song) is a traditional New
Orleans blues song that inspired the happiest line in Dr. Harry
Oster's recordings of Rise & Fly, "Well if it wasn't for Captain oh
Lordy and them shaggedy hounds, I'd be in New Orleans oh Lordy fo'
de' sun down."
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