Stanley Cowell - Regeneration (1975)

  • 12 Sep, 14:55
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Artist:
Title: Regeneration
Year Of Release: 1998
Label: Charly Records[CDGR 247]
Genre: Jazz, Post Bop
Quality: FLAC (tracks + .cue,log)
Total Time: 33:12
Total Size: 174 MB(+3%)
WebSite:

Tracklist

01. Trying to Find a Way (Cowell-McLaughlin) - 3:59
02. The Gembhre (Higgins) - 3:40
03. Shimmy Shewobble (Brown) - 4:02
04. Parlour Blues (Cowell-Wanzandae) - 5:05
05. Thank You My People (Cowell-Kanonu) - 6:58
06. Travelin' Man (Cowell-Fowlkes) - 3:48
07. Lullabye (Cowell-Venable-McLaughlin) - 5:40

personnel :

Stanley Cowell - piano, synthesizer, kora, mbira
Marion Brown - wooden flute (#3,6)
Jimmy Heath - soprano saxophone, flute, alto flute (#5-7)
John Stubblefield - zuna (#5)
Jerry Venable - acoustic guitar (#1)
Psyche Wanzandae - harmonica, flute (#4,5)
Bill Lee - bass (#2,6,7)
Aleke Kanonu - bass drum, vocals (#1,3,5)
Billy Higgins - drums, gembhre, percussion (#1-3,5,7)
Ed Blackwell - water drum, parade drum, percussion (#1,3,5)
Nadi Qamar - mama-lekimbe, percussion, Madigascan harp (#2,6,7)
Charles Fowlkes - vocals, electric bass (#1,5-7)
Glenda Barnes (#1), Kareema (#6,7) - vocals

Around the time of this recording, Stanley Cowell had achieved a degree of prominence as the pianist for the advanced bop quartet Music Inc., which he co-led with trumpeter Charles Tolliver, as well as for unusual projects like his Piano Choir. With Regeneration he chose another path, essentially trying to produced a jazz-infused pop album with strong African roots, perhaps owing a little bit to Stevie Wonder. He assembled an extremely strong cast of musicians for the venture, including Marion Brown, Billy Higgins, and Ed Blackwell, as well as several African string and percussion masters and, by and large, succeeded conceptually if not commercially. A few songs use vocals in a fairly standard pop framework, and, while they are performed capably enough, the lyrical content leaves something to be desired in typical mid-'70s fashion. But much of the rest of the music makes up for this with, among other things, a delightful fife and drum piece by Brown and strong bass work by Bill Lee (Spike's dad). Regeneration is an interesting, often enjoyable album which, aside from its own small pleasures, provides a snapshot of some of the cross-fertilization in genres occurring at the time.~Brian Olewnick