Archie Shepp – The Cry of My People
Building upon his previous large-group project, Attica Blues, avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp brings together gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras on The Cry of My People, along with esteemed guests Harold Mabern on piano, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie on drums, and Ron Carter on electric bass. From the liner notes: “On the African Continuum and in the millenennium there are those that have chosen to resist. In the substance of that resistance lies the nucleus of the culture and the only real motion that moves us is the beat of the drum… The selections within this album are about resistance. The music requires you to listen and think.”
Recommended – Full Listen
A1 Rest Enough (Song To Mother)
A2 A Prayer
A3 All God’s Children Got A Home In The Universe
A4 The Lady
B1 The Cry Of My People
B2 African Drum Suite, Part 1
B3 African Drum Suite, Part 2
B4 Come Sunday
Bass – Jimmy Garrison (tracks: A2, A4 to B4)
Bass [Fender] – Ron Carter (tracks: A1, A3, B1)
Cello – Esther Mellon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4), Pat Dixon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4)
Coordinator [Graphic Coordination] – Alan Sekuler
Design [Album] – Ruby Mazur
Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: A3 to B1), Bernard Purdie (tracks: A1, A2)
Engineer – Tony May
Engineer [Engineering] – Baker Bigsby, Wally Heider
Guitar – Cornell Dupree (tracks: A1, A3)
Illustration – N. Stevens*
Liner Notes – Bill Hasson
Mixed By – Baker Bigsby
Percussion – Nene DeFense (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B4)
Photography By – Chuck Stewart
Piano – Dave Burrell (tracks: B2. B3), Harold Mabern (tracks: A1 to B1, B4)
Producer – Ed Michel
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp (tracks: A2, A4, B3)
Tambourine – Nene DeFense (tracks: A1, A3)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (tracks: A3, A4, B1, B4)
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (tracks: A2 to B3), Charles Stephens (tracks: A2 to B1, B4)
Trumpet – Charles McGhee (tracks: A2 to B1, B3, B4)
Violin – Gayle Dixon (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4), Jerry Little (tracks: A4, B3, B4), John Blake (tracks: A2, B1), Leroy Jenkins (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B3, B4), Lois Siessinger (tracks: A2, B1), Noel DaCosta (tracks: A4, B3, B4)
Vocals – Andre Franklin (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B3), Patterson Singers (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B3)