Jazz Gumbo

artist / tune / album // Les McCann & Eddie Harris / Kathleen’s Theme / Swiss Movement // Bill Evans / You Must Believe In Spring / You Must Believe In Spring // Sade / Pearls / Love Deluxe // Michel Camilo / Dreamlight / Michel Camilo // Carlos Garnett / Black Love / Black Love // Macy Gray / Relating to a Psychopath / The id // United Vibrations / No Space, No Time / No Space, No Time // Gil Scott-Heron / “B” Movie / Reflections // Fats Waller / You’re Not the Only Oyster in the Stew / Fats Waller – Giants of Jazz // Benny Goodman / Sing, Sing, Sing / Big Bands Revisited // King Pleasure / Jazz Jump / Mr. Jazz // Donald Harrison & Terrence Blanchard / Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise / Crystal Stair // The Opening Theme Song is “Music Evolution” by Buckshot Lefonque, from the album “Music Evolution” Gil Scott-Heron was all about the message, and about entertaining you while he delivered it. I believe that poetry, or spoken word may have been his first calling. Maybe preaching. In any case, he does it well. "B Movie", from 1981, is dated in its political references, but still timely as it relates to an issue that has not gone away: the domination of the political sphere by the few."Black Love" by Carlos Garnett, from 1974, is an earlier manifestation of social consciousness infusing the music of the time. And it grooves too. Starting off the trilogy of "Consciousness Music" is Sade's Pearls, from '92. I totally mis-represented this artist, botching the pronunciation of her name and stating that “Pearls” was released “two or three years ago” when it in fact it came out in ’92. But it's not all message music, and there's much more to nourish the spirit in this set. I hope that you will enjoy!