Never-before-issued music from three very different settings in upstate New York, all recorded in the period running up to Poughkeepsie multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee's Nation Time. From a year before that landmark LP, in the same hall at Vassar College, McPhee led a band with soulfulvibraphonist Ernie Bostic and voluble rhythm section of Tyrone Crabb and Bruce Thompson, both of Nation Time fame, performing a John Coltrane-oriented set that included versions of Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" and Coltrane's "Naima," as well as McPhee-fave "God Bless The Child." Deeply emotional and fiery playing with this unusual instrumentation – rare to find McPhee playing with a harmonically based instrument like vibes. McPhee had organized a larger group also meant to feature Bostic and a French horn for a concert at a monastery in nearby New Windsor, but the band was pared down to a quartet with saxophonist Reggie Marks, playing a powerful combination of originals and the Patty Waters-associated traditional tune "Black Is The Color." (The concert also featured a cameo by David Nelson of the Last Poets, but technical issues in the recording scuttled that and several other tracks.) Finally, three cuts document a more rough-and-tumble gig taped outdoors in the park at Poughkeepsie's Lincoln Centre – the only surviving recordings of this funky, bluesy, lowdown, explosive configuration, they feature vocals by one Octavius Graham, great drumming by Chico Hawkins, and Tyrone Crabb on electric bass. This two-CD set has been lovingly transferred from the original tapes out of from McPhee's personal archives, and is augmented by newly discovered photographs of the concerts. A spectacular deep dive into the pure magic of Mr. McPhee.
CD1
1. God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday/11:43)
2. Improvisation (McPhee/14:18)
3. Afro Blue (Mongo Santamaria/8:55)
4. Naima (John Coltrane/13:27)
Joe McPhee, trumpet, tenor, and soprano saxophone
Tyrone Crabb, bass
Ernest Bostic, vibes
Bruce Thompson, drums
Recorded by Craig Johnson, October 23, 1969 at Chicago Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY.
CD2
1. Improvisation (McPhee/11:30)
2. Black is the Color (Traditional/13:55)
3. Juju for John Coltrane (McPhee/15:27)
Joe McPhee, tenor saxophone, trumpet
Reggie Marks, tenor saxophone, flute
Tyrone Crabb, bass
Bruce Thompson, drums
Recorded by Craig Johnson, January 12, 1969, at St. Helena Convent, New
Windsor, NY.
4. I Don’t Want Nobody (James Brown/6:24)
5. Funky Broadway (Wilson Pickett/6:53)
6. Blues for the People (McPhee/9:04)
credits
released May 31, 2021
Joe McPhee, tenor saxophone
Mike Kull, piano
Tyrone Crabb, electric bass
Chico Hawkins, drums
Octavius Graham, vocals
Recorded by Sandy Margolin, May 24, 1970 at Lincoln Center, Poughkeepsie,NY. Tape transfer, editing and mastering by Alex Inglizian, Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago.
Photographs from the Joe McPhee Archives at Corbett vs. Dempsey. Design by David Khan Giordano. Produced by John Corbett. Front cover photo: McPhee, Lincoln Center, 1970; back cover photo: C.I.E. at St. Helena, 1969; foldover panel photo: Chico Hawkins.
supported by 7 fans who also own “Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70”
There are so many reasons to love the work of William Parker and those he chooses to play with, and here it's not only his virtuosity on display, but his gracious heart and the bounty of talent accompanying him to fulfill this work of melody, soul, and poetry executed with precision and grace. Another masterstroke from the master. Why would it be any other way? ps0m
supported by 6 fans who also own “Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70”
This could’ve been my album of the year if I’d noticed it. Hell.
2020, feeling like shit and then this musical balm appears. Live recording on one mic. Just bass and harp. Awesome. It swings like a pendulum do!
Big shout out for Dezron’s love of coffee. I now have 2 of his albums and he’s proselytising on behalf of coffee on both. Damn right ☕️ Crinklechips
Two fifths of the acclaimed group Irreversible Entanglements create a revolutionary LP celebrating Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences through intricate drum and brass arrangements. Bandcamp Album of the Day Oct 21, 2020
supported by 6 fans who also own “Black Is The Color: Live in Poughkeepsie and New Windsor, 1969-70”
On "Painters Winter", William Parker and company explore some fascinating musical spaces, a set of songs that stretch out and expand in a way that ably demonstrates both the players' impressive skills and Parker's exceptional gifts as a composer. rikm