Attica Blues (album)

Last updated
Attica Blues
Archie Shepp - Attica Blues.jpg
Studio album by
Archie Shepp
Released1972
RecordedJanuary 24–26, 1972
Studio A&R Recording, New York
Genre Jazz, post-bop, avant-garde jazz, big band, jazz poetry, funk
Label Impulse! AS-9222
Producer Ed Michel
Archie Shepp chronology
Things Have Got to Change
(1971)		Attica Blues
(1972)		 The Cry of My People
(1972)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Rolling Stone favorable [2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Pitchfork 9.3/10 [5]

Attica Blues is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp. Originally released in 1972 on the Impulse! label, the album title refers to the Attica Prison riots. [6]

Contents

Reception

The AllMusic review by Steve Huey states: "Attica Blues is one of Shepp's most successful large-group projects, because his skillful handling of so many different styles of black music produces such tremendously groovy results". [7] Stephen Davis of Rolling Stone said that it was "not just a masterpiece of protest: [...] it is more a politico/religious experience, an appeal to higher human consciousness to, for God's sake, help us out of this torment." [2]

Track listing

All compositions by Archie Shepp, except as indicated
  1. "Attica Blues" (lyrics by Beaver Harris) – 4:49
  2. "Invocation: Attica Blues" (Harris) – 0:18
  3. "Steam, Part 1" – 5:08
  4. "Invocation to Mr. Parker" (lyrics by Bart Gray) – 3:17
  5. "Steam, Part 2" – 5:10
  6. "Blues for Brother George Jackson" – 4:00
  7. "Invocation: Ballad for a Child" (Harris) – 0:30
  8. "Ballad for a Child" (lyrics by Harris) – 3:37
  9. "Good-Bye Sweet Pops" (Cal Massey) – 4:23
  10. "Quiet Dawn" (Massey) – 6:12
Recorded at A&R Recording, NYC, January 24–26, 1972 (Track timings slightly differ from one issue to another, due to merging tracks.)

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>The Dealer</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Chico Hamilton

The Dealer is a 1966 album by jazz drummer/bandleader Chico Hamilton. It was first released by Impulse! Records (AS-9130) and has been subsequently reissued on CD with the addition of bonus tracks from Chic Chic Chico, Definitive Jazz Scene Vol. 3 and Passin' Thru. The bonus tracks feature different line-ups to that of the album, including Charles Lloyd and Gábor Szabó. The bonus track, "El Toro" is also featured on the Impulsive! Unmixed compilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cal Massey</span> American jazz musician

Calvin "Cal" Massey was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.

<i>On This Night</i> 1965 studio album by Archie Shepp

On This Night is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in 1965. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, bassist David Izenzon and drummer J. C. Moses in March 1965 and with a larger band in August of that year that included vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Henry Grimes and percussionists Ed Blackwell, Joe Chambers and Rashied Ali.

<i>The Magic of Ju-Ju</i> 1968 studio album by Archie Shepp

The Magic of Ju-Ju is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! Records in May 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Martin Banks, trombonist Mike Zwerin, bassist Reggie Workman and percussionists Norman Connors, Frank Charles, Dennis Charles, Ed Blackwell and Beaver Harris in April of 1967.

<i>The Way Ahead</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Archie Shepp

The Way Ahead is an album by Archie Shepp, released on Impulse! Records in 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Walter Davis Jr., bassist Ron Carter and drummers Roy Haynes and Beaver Harris in January 1968 with two additional tracks featuring baritone saxophonist Charles Davis, pianist Dave Burrell and bassist Walter Booker recorded in February 1969, and first released on Kwanza (1974), added to the CD release.

<i>Things Have Got to Change</i> 1971 studio album by Archie Shepp

Things Have Got to Change is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released in 1971 on the Impulse! label. The album features a performance by Shepp with a large ensemble and vocal choir. The album "solidified the saxophonists reputation as a soulful, yet radical free jazz artist motivated by social commentary and cultural change".

<i>The Cry of My People</i> 1973 studio album by Archie Shepp

The Cry of My People is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released in 1972 on the Impulse! label. The album features performances by Shepp with gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras. The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states: "Shepp worked with many larger ensembles as a leader, but never did he achieve such a perfect balance as he did on The Cry of My People".

<i>Kwanza</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Archie Shepp

Kwanza is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! in 1974. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with four different ensembles.

<i>For Losers</i> 1970 studio album by Archie Shepp

For Losers is an album by Archie Shepp released on Impulse! in 1970. The album contains tracks recorded from September 1968 to August 1969 by Shepp with three different ensembles. The AllMusic review by Rob Ferrier states "for anyone wishing to understand the music and career of this brilliant musician, this is an undervalued piece of the puzzle".

<i>Theres a Trumpet in My Soul</i> 1975 studio album by Archie Shepp

There's a Trumpet in My Soul is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp released in 1975 on the Arista Freedom label.

<i>Black Gipsy</i> 1970 studio album by Archie Shepp

Black Gipsy is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1969 for the America label. The album was also issued by the Prestige label under the title Black Gypsy.

<i>Pitchin Can</i> 1970 studio album by Archie Shepp

Pitchin Can is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Paris, France, in 1969 and 1970 for the America label. The album features one track by Shepp with Clifford Thornton, Noah Howard, Julio Finn, Leroy Jenkins, Dave Burrell, Earl Freeman, Sunny Murray and Chicago Beau and one extended track by Shepp with Thornton, Lester Bowie, Alan Shorter, Bobby Few, Bob Reid, Muhammad Ali, Djibrill and Ostaine Blue Warner.

<i>Montreux One</i> 1976 live album by Archie Shepp

Montreux One is a live album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1975 and released on the Arista Freedom label.

<i>Montreux Two</i> 1976 live album by Archie Shepp

Montreux Two is a live album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1975 and released on the Arista Freedom label.

<i>A Sea of Faces</i> 1975 studio album by Archie Shepp

A Sea of Faces is an album by avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Milan, Italy, on August 4 and 5, 1975, and released on the Italian Black Saint label. It features performances by Shepp with Charles Greenlee, Dave Burrell, Cameron Brown, Beaver Harris, Rafi Taha and Bunny Foy.

<i>Steam</i> (Archie Shepp album) 1976 live album by Archie Shepp

Steam is a live album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded at the East-West Jazz Festival in Nuremberg, West Germany on May 14, 1976 and released on the Enja label.

<i>Trouble in Mind</i> (Archie Shepp album) 1980 studio album by Archie Shepp and Horace Parlan

Trouble in Mind is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Horace Parlan, featuring performances recorded in 1980 and released on the Danish-based SteepleChase label. The album consists mainly of early and traditional blues and follows up to their 1977 album of duets on spirituals Goin' Home.

<i>Blues for Dracula</i> 1958 studio album by Philly Joe Jones

Blues for Dracula is the debut album by American jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones which was recorded in 1958 for the Riverside label.

<i>All Star Sessions</i> 1956 studio album by Gene Ammons

All Star Sessions is an album by saxophonist Gene Ammons recorded between 1950 and 1955 and released on the Prestige label.

<i>Hi-Fly</i> (Karin Krog and Archie Shepp album) 1976 studio album by Karin Krog and Archie Shepp

Hi-Fly is a 1976 album by jazz singer Karin Krog and saxophonist Archie Shepp.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 Davis, Stephen (August 17, 1972). "Archie Shepp - Attica Blues". Rolling Stone . No. 115. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  179. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  4. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1290. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ↑ Chinen, Nate. "Archie Shepp: Attica Blues Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  6. ↑ Bergstrom, John (1 April 2014). "Archie Shepp / Attica Blues Orchestra - I Hear the Sound". PopMatters . Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Huey, S. Allmusic Review, accessed June 25, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.