Label: Archieball, 2021
Personnel - Archie Shepp: tenor and soprano saxophones; Jason Moran: piano.
Comprising tunes collected from two live performances in Europe (at La Philarmonie de Paris, France, in 2017 and Late Feuerwache Mannheim, Germany, in 2018), Let My People Go gathers the geniuses of legendary saxophonist Archie Shepp and effervescent pianist Jason Moran.
The album title stems from “Go Down Moses”, an African-American spiritual delivered here with an intense emotional force. Equally soul-stirring is the opener, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”, another epitomic piece that cries the hardships of slavery and where the profound, lyrical piano accompaniment offers a steady shoulder to a moaning soprano saxophone. Both musicians search deep here, conveying the painful sentiments of the song while finding absolute harmony in their movements. The wistfulness is reinforced by Shepp’s utterly captivating vocals in the final section.
The duo shows appreciation for the music of Billy Strayhorn by interpreting a couple of his tone poems - the balladic “Isfahan”, in which Moran provides enough space for the enveloping tenor playing, and the poignant “Lush Life”, here inundated with reverberating low notes on the tenor. Shepp not only sings with personality here but also cites Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” during his solo.
The saxophonist’s devotion to John Coltrane, with whom he recorded in 1966, is expressed in a 13-minute version of “Wise One”. This piece, composed in 1964 and included in Coltrane's masterpiece quartet album Crescent (Impulse!), was also tackled by Shepp in 1977 for the album Ballads For Trane (Denon). Elegiac tones and spiritual significance combine via some superb piano work and incredibly intoned melodies that perfectly ride the modal passages.
The mesmerizing spell of Moran’s “He Cares” will have a deep impact on the listeners. It’s a transcendent, heartfelt and sublime reflection taken beyond the jazz scope and pointed directly at the heart.
Four bonus tracks are added to the digital release. Two Shepp previously recorded originals (“Ujama”, in which the melody of “A Night in Tunisia” bubbles to the surface at some point during his improvisation, and the funky blues “Slow Drag”) and two Fat Waller classics (“Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Jitterbug Waltz”).
With nearly four decades separating their births, Shepp and Moran are united by a common language and message. They excel in this collaboration filled with beautiful and impassioned lyricism.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child ► 03 - He Cares ► 05 - Wise One