A multi-genre musical tribute to gospel queen, Mahalia Jackson…
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet – For Mahalia, With Love – Tao Forms #TAO 13 – 2 CD – 71:53, 51:53 – ****
Most of us have a special place in our hearts for our grandmothers. After all, usually without the burden of primary parenting, they can spoil us rotten, both with their cooking, and non-judgmental attention. Hopefully our grandmothers were with us when we are young, and still a steady influence during our rebellious teenage years, when we were more of a challenge.
Tenor jazz saxophonist, James Brandon Lewis’ grandmother had a deep love for gospel queen, Mahalia Jackson, when she grew up in the 1930s. James describes her love for Mahalia in elegant fashion, on his liner notes, on his magnificent 2 CD tribute to Ms. Jackson, For Mahalia, With Love.
Mahalia had a forty year career bringing her blend of gospel blues to the general public, appearing both in churches, and secular settings. She sold two million records in 1947, when her hit, “Move on Up a Little Higher,” reached number #2 on the Billboard charts. Jackson sang the national anthem at President John Kennedy’s inaugural, and she was a personal favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King. Mahalia would often work herself into a frenzy, using her barrel house vocals to blow away audiences.
It is easy to see the fascination that a young James would have hearing stories from his dear grandma about Mahalia Jackson. Now Lewis honors the love in a heartfelt genre bending tribute. The first CD in this two CD gate fold package has James along with a quartet of cornetist, Kirk Knuffke; cellist, Chris Hoffman; veteran avant garde bassist, William Parker; and drummer, Chad Taylor, on eight gospel standards, and an original (“Even the Sparrow.”)
Lewis’ quintet crosses many boundaries throughout the CD, ranging from respectful soul jazz, and blues, all the way to wildly improvisational free wheeling avant sections. In the “open” excursions there is use of counterpoint, saxophone/cornet battles, and even rock influenced rhythms, on “Elijah Rock.”
“Go Down Moses” has a great bass groove provided by William Parker, while Parker and cellist, Chris Hoffman blend strings on “Deep River.” On “Go Down Moses,” the longest track at nearly ten minutes, has the group covering a New Orleans R & B groove, meeting a Latin vibe, with a generous scoop of post bop – something for everyone…
Somberness is expressed on “Calvary,” while tender blues permeates the closer, “Precious Lord.”
The expanded edition we reviewed includes a second disc, titled These Are Soulful Days. Here we find Lewis, on his seven movement suite, backed by the Lutoslawski Quartet (two violins, viola, and cello) performing live at the Jazztopad Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, on Nov. 20, 2021. This was a commissioned work for the National Forum of Music, and it was a world premier. The suite has sections of sublime beauty, almost chamber music like, along with challenging open free sections, where the strings take on the challenge of meeting Lewis’ intensity on tenor sax. As an encore, James tears off the roof with a raucous bluesy read of “Take Me to the Water.”
Fans of Mahalia, with “open ears,” will find much to love on this release. Avant jazz folks will dig in deeply, while James Brandon Lewis’ dear grandmother would be mighty proud of her little grandson, and his creative musical vision.
—Jeff Krow
For Mahalia, With Love
Performing Artists:
James Brandon Lewis – tenor saxophone – Kirk Knuffke – cornet; Chris Hoffman – cello : William Parker – string bass ; Chad Taylor – drums;
Lutoslawski Quartet: Roksana Kwasnikowska – first violin; Artur Rozmyslowicz – viola; Marcin Markowicz – second violin; Maciej Mlodawski – cello
Tracklist:
CD 1:
Sparrow
Swing Low
Go Down Moses
Wade in the Water
Calvary
Deep River
Elijah Rock
Were You There
Precious Lord
CD 2 (Expanded Version):
Introduction
Prologue-Humility
Movement I
Movement II
Movement III
Movement IV
Epilogue-Resilience
Encore- Take Me to the River
More information available through Tao Forms
