Bobby Zankel & Wonderful Sound 8 - A Change Of Destiny (2023)

Zankel’s revelatory new album, A Change of Destiny, recorded with his Wonderful Sound 8—an offshoot of his Warriors of the Wonderful Sound big band—is based on music he wrote in the early 2010s for a dance piece, The Spirits Break to Freedom. Created with distinguished photographer and printmaker John Dowell and dancer/choreographer Germaine Ingram, the work is a response to the discovery of slave quarters in George Washington’s President’s House—the first White House, located in Philadelphia. The titles of the songs on the alternately high energy and soulfully searching; A Change of Destiny tell the story. “Naming Names” is about the identification of the nine slaves. “Ring Shout” channels the religious dance of African origin done by slaves.