MARY LOU WILLIAMS – MARY LOU'S MASS ( 1975 ).ONE OF THE GREAT CLASSICS OF THE SPIRITUAL JAZZ AND GOSPEL & SACRED MUSIC.CARLINE RAY,,CHRIS WHITE (3),MILTON SUGGS,HOWARD A. ROBERTS,,CARL HALL,RALPH MACDONALD,AL HAREWOOD,DAVID AMRAM,ROGER GLENN,SONNY HENRY,HONI GORDON.Carline Ray (pistas: A6-A9, B1, B5), Christine Spencer (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B1-B2, B5), Eileen Gilbert (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B1-B2, B5), Honi Gordon (pistas: A4), James Bailey (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B1, B4), Milton Grayson* (pistas: A1, A5, B1, B4), Randy Peyton (pistas: A6, A9, B2, B5) Vocals [Screams] – Honi Gordon (pistas: B3) Vocals [Solo] – Carl Hall (pistas: A5, A7, B1, B4), Carline Ray (pistas: A8), Honi Gordon (pistas: B3), Milton Grayson* (pistas: A3), Peter Whitehead (pistas: B6), Randy Peyton (pistas: A7, B1) .1975:...How does a jazz musician get booked into St. Patrick's Cathedral, a place where no jazz musician has ever played? Mary Lou Williams, the jazz pianist and composer, knows the answer for on Tuesday afternoon at 2 P.M. her “Mary Lou's Mass” will be performed there. Here is how the event came about. Four years ago, Miss Williams went with Father Peter O'Brien, a young priest who serves as her manager, to an ordination at Fordham University attended by Cardinal Terence Cooke. After the ceremony, Miss Williams urged Father O'Brien to speak to the Cardinal about having her Mass performed in St. Patrick's. But the young priest objected: This would not be proper protocol. “So Peter hid behind a tree,” Miss Williams recalled with a pleased gleam in her eve, “and I went chasing across the campus shouting ‘Cardinal Cooke! Cardinal Cooke!’ I told him I'd written n Mass and I'd like to do it at St. Patrick's. He said ‘Fine.’ I said, ‘It's kind of noisy and loud … 'That's what we need,’ “he said. He thought it would be a wonderful thing for young people....

https://marylouwilliams.bandcamp.com/


Mary Lou Williams – Mary Lou's Mass

Sello:
Mary Records – M 102
Formato:
Vinilo, LP, Album, Stereo
País:
US
Publicado:
1975
Género:
Jazz
Estilo:
Bop, Post Bop, Soul-Jazz

Lista de TítulosOcultar créditos

A1 Praise The Lord 2:07
A2 Old Time Spiritual 1:10
A3 The Lord Says 1:51
A4 Act Of Contrition 1:26
A5 Kyrie - Lord Have Mercy
Written-By – M.L. Williams*, R. Ledogar*
Written-By – M.L. Williams*, R. Ledogar* 1:42
A6 Gloria 1:42
A7 In His Day 0:52
A8 Lazarus
Written-By – M.L. Williams*, S. Henry*
Written-By – M.L. Williams*, S. Henry* 4:24
A9 Credo
Written By – E. Flanagan
Written-By – M.L. Williams*
Written By – E. Flanagan
Written-By – M.L. Williams* 2:12
A10 Medi I 3:58
B1 Holy, Holy, Holy 2:17
B2 Our Father 2:07
B3 Lamb Of God 3:23
B4 People In Trouble 3:16
B5 One
Written-By – Leon Thomas
Written-By – Leon Thomas 1:23
B6 Praise The Lord (Come Holy Spirit) 3:52



Compañías, etc.

Masterizado en – Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs
Publicado por – Cecilia Music Publishers, Inc.
Publicado por – Nuwaupu Music

Créditos

Arranged By, Producer, Written-By – Mary Lou Williams
Artwork By – Berit De Koenigswarter
Bass – Carline Ray (pistas: A6-A9, B2, B5), Chris White (3) (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B1, B4), Milton Suggs (pistas: A2, A4, A10, B3, B6)
Conductor – Howard Roberts* (pistas: B3, B6)
Congas – Abdul Rahman (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B1, B4), Ralph MacDonald (pistas: A2, A10, B6)
Cover, Design – Berit De Koenigswarter
Drums – Al Harewood (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B2, B5), David Parker (11) (pistas: A1-A3, A5, A10, B1, B4, B6)
Flute – David Amram (pistas: B5), Roger Glenn (pistas: A1-A3, A5, A10, B1, B3-B4)
French Horn – David Amram (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B2), Julius Watkins (pistas: B6)
Guitar – Leon Atkinson (pistas: A6, A8-A9, B5-B6), Sonny Henry (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B1, B4)
Mastered By – Al Brown (5)
Piano – Mary Lou Williams (pistas: A1-A10, B1-B6)
Producer – Peter O'Brien (2)
Vocals – Carl Hall (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B4), Carline Ray (pistas: A6-A9, B1, B5), Christine Spencer (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B1-B2, B5), Eileen Gilbert (pistas: A6-A7, A9, B1-B2, B5), Honi Gordon (pistas: A4), James Bailey (pistas: A1, A3, A5, B1, B4), Milton Grayson* (pistas: A1, A5, B1, B4), Randy Peyton (pistas: A6, A9, B2, B5)
Vocals [Screams] – Honi Gordon (pistas: B3)
Vocals [Solo] – Carl Hall (pistas: A5, A7, B1, B4), Carline Ray (pistas: A8), Honi Gordon (pistas: B3), Milton Grayson* (pistas: A3), Peter Whitehead (pistas: B6), Randy Peyton (pistas: A7, B1)

Notas
Deep groove.

Tracks A2, A4, A10, B3, B6 recorded January 1972 - never before issued on records.

All other titles recorded early 1970 - formerly issued on Music For Peace

Entier album remixed and remastered at Media Sound, NYC 1975
Mary Lou Williams – Mary Lou's Mass
Sello:
Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40815
Formato:
CD, Album, Reissue
País:
US
Publicado:
2005
Género:
Jazz
Estilo:
Bop, Post Bop, Soul-Jazz

Lista de TítulosOcultar créditos

1 Willis 3:37
2 O.W.
Other [Vocables] – M. L. Williams*
Other [Vocables] – M. L. Williams* 2:16
3 Praise The Lord 2:09
4 Old Time Spiritual 1:10
5 The Lord Says 1:50
6 Act Of Contrition 1:26
7 Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy)
Words By – M. L. Williams*
Words By – M. L. Williams* 1:43
8 Gloria 1:53
9 Medi I And Medi II 3:59
10 In His Day / Peace I Leave With You / Alleluia 0:53
11 Lazarus
Words By – M. L. Williams*, Sonny Henry
Words By – M. L. Williams*, Sonny Henry 4:36
12 Credo 2:19
13 Credo (Instrumental) 5:48
14 Holy, Holy, Holy 2:24
15 Amen 0:17
16 Our Father 2:11
17 Lamb Of God 3:23
18 It Is Always Spring
Music By, Words By – Leon Thomas
Music By, Words By – Leon Thomas 2:34
19 People In Trouble
Words By – M. L. Williams*
Words By – M. L. Williams* 3:27
20 One 1:23
21 Praise The Lord (Come Holy Spirit) 3:55
22 Jesus Is The Best
Words By – Thomas Virga
Words By – Thomas Virga 2:53
23 Tell Him Not To Talk Too Long
Words By – M. L. Williams*
Words By – M. L. Williams* 2:33
24 I Have A Dream
Words By – M. L. Williams*
Words By – M. L. Williams* 1:59



Compañías, etc.

Copyright fonográfico ℗ – Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Copyright © – Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Créditos

Arranged By, Producer [Original] – Mary Lou Williams
Bass – Carline Ray (pistas: 1, 8, 11 to 13, 16, 20, 22), Chris White (3) (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 7, 14, 15, 18, 19), Milton Suggs (pistas: 4, 9, 17, 21)
Bass [Acoustic] – Milton Suggs (pistas: 6)
Bass [Electric] – Carline Ray (pistas: 10)
Choir – SATB Chorus* (pistas: 17, 21), Choir From The North American College In Rome (pistas: 23, 24)
Compiled By, Reissue Producer, Liner Notes – Fr. Peter O'Brien, S.J.*
Conductor – Howard Roberts* (pistas: 17, 21)
Congas – Abdul Rahman (pistas: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 14, 19, 22), Ralph MacDonald (pistas: 4, 9, 21)
Design, Layout – Sonya Cohen Cramer
Drums – Al Harewood (pistas: 8, 10, 12, 16, 20), David Parker (11) (pistas: 1 to 5, 7, 9, 13 to 15, 18, 21, 22)
Flute – David Amram (pistas: 20), Roger Glenn (pistas: 2 to 4, 7, 9, 14, 15, 17 to 19), Unknown Artist (pistas: 23, 24)
French Horn – David Amram (pistas: 8, 12, 16), Julius Watkins (pistas: 21)
Guitar – Leon Atkinson (pistas: 8, 10 to 12, 20, 21), Sonny Henry (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 7, 13 to 15, 18, 19, 22)
Liner Notes – Tammy L. Kernodle
Liner Notes [Editorial Assistance] – Jacob Love
Management [Production] – Mary Monseur
Music By – Mary Lou Williams (pistas: 1 to 17, 19 to 24)
Organ – Mary Lou Williams (pistas: 23, 24)
Photography By – Mikki Ferrill, Patrick Hinely
Piano – Mary Lou Williams (pistas: 1 to 22)
Supervised By [Production] – D. A. Sonneborn*, Daniel Sheehy
Supervised By [Sound], Mastered By – Pete Reiniger
Tambourine – David Parker (11) (pistas: 13, 22)
Vocals – Carl Hall (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 14, 15, 18), Carline Ray (pistas: 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 20), Christine Spencer (pistas: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20), Eileen Gilbert (pistas: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20), Honi Gordon (pistas: 6), James Bailey (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 7, 14, 15, 18, 19), Milton Grayson* (pistas: 2, 3, 7, 14, 15, 18, 19), Randy Peyton (pistas: 8, 10, 12, 16, 20), Sonny Henry (pistas: 22)
Vocals [Overdubbed] – Carline Ray (pistas: 7), Christine Spencer (pistas: 7), Eileen Gilbert (pistas: 7), Randy Peyton (pistas: 7)
Vocals [Screams] – Honi Gordon (pistas: 17)
Vocals [Solo] – Carl Hall (pistas: 7, 10, 19), Carline Ray (pistas: 16), Honi Gordon (pistas: 17), Leon Thomas (pistas: 18), Milton Grayson* (pistas: 5), Peter Whitehead (pistas: 21), Randy Peyton (pistas: 10, 14)

Notas
Track 1, 13 & 22 recorded September 3, 1917.
Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 15, 18 & 19 recorded October 5, 1969.
Tracks 4, 6, 9, 10, 17 & 21 recorded January 7, 1972.
Tracks 8, 11, 12, 14, 16 & 20 recorded February 20, 1970.
Tracks 23 & 24 recorded Spring 1969 at The Vatican Radio.
Track 7 overdubbed on February 13, 1970.

℗© 2005 Smithsonian Folkway Recordings



Jez riley French:


Mary Lou Williams presents... (album liner notes)







The Asch Recordings (album liner notes)






At the Intersection of Jazz and Catholicism: The Sacred Music of Mary Lou Williams





The Function of Oral Tradition in Mary Lou's Mass




‘‘The Fools Don’t Think I Play Jazz’’: Cecil Taylor Meets Mary Lou Williams


Brief Biography

"Night Life"




A Celebration (program notes)





Acetates and Sound Recordings (archive list)




Mary Lou Williams Collection (archive list)




First Lady of the Piano






“Playing Like a Man”: the Struggle of Black Women in Jazz and the Feminist Movement (inc...)




Faith and Struggle in the Lives of Four Black Americans (inc...)
(also epub)







Mary Lou's Mass
by Mary Lou Williams


 





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1.
Willis 03:41




2.
O.W. 02:19




3.
Praise the Lord 02:13




4.
Old Time Spiritual 01:14




5.
The Lord Says 01:54




6.
Act of Contrition 01:30




7.
Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy) 01:47




8.
Gloria 01:56




9.
Medi I and Medi II 04:03




10.
In His Day / Peace I Leave With You / Alleluia 00:57




11.
Lazarus 04:40




12.
Credo 02:22




13.
Credo (Instrumental) 05:51




14.
Holy, Holy, Holy 02:27




15.
Amen 00:21




16.
Our Father 02:14




17.
Lamb of God 03:27




18.
It is Always Spring 02:37




19.
People in Trouble 03:31




20.
One 01:26




21.
Praise the Lord (Come Holy Spirit) 03:58




22.
Jesus is the Best 02:57




23.
Tell Him Not to Talk Too Long 02:36




24.
I Have a Dream 01:59



about
The long-awaited reissue of Mary Lou Williams's magnum opus of religious jazz: Mary Lou's Mass. Newsweek called the score "an encyclopedia of black music, richly represented from spirituals to bop to rock." This is Williams's "Music for Peace," a landmark recording which addressed many of the social ills of the 1960s and 70s. It is perhaps the most openly religious jazz recording made at that time. In her own words, it is "Music for the Soul."
credits
released February 22, 2005

2005, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/09/archives/mary-lou-takes-her-jazz-mass-to-church.html




By John S. Wilson
Feb. 9, 1975


About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.


How does a jazz musician get booked into St. Patrick's Cathedral, a place where no jazz musician has ever played? Mary Lou Williams, the jazz pianist and composer, knows the answer for on Tuesday afternoon at 2 P.M. her “Mary Lou's Mass” will be performed there. Here is how the event came about.

Four years ago, Miss Williams went with Father Peter O'Brien, a young priest who serves as her manager, to an ordination at Fordham University attended by Cardinal Terence Cooke. After the ceremony, Miss Williams urged Father O'Brien to speak to the Cardinal about having her Mass performed in St. Patrick's. But the young priest objected: This would not be proper protocol.

“So Peter hid behind a tree,” Miss Williams recalled with a pleased gleam in her eve, “and I went chasing across the campus shouting ‘Cardinal Cooke! Cardinal Cooke!’ I told him I'd written n Mass and I'd like to do it at St. Patrick's. He said ‘Fine.’ I said, ‘It's kind of noisy and loud … 'That's what we need,’ “he said. He thought it would be a wonderful thing for young people.

Miss Williams took a deep drag on a small, black cigar and looked around the living room of her apartment on Sugar Hill overlooking St. Nicholas Avenue. She has lived there since 1941 when she left Andy Kirk's band, with which she had been pianist and arranger for 12 years. Suitcases, a tape machine, a record player were scattered around the room. Along one wall were stacks of cardboard boxes containing Mary Records, a label she started in 1964 to record her own works. On top of a wellworn upright piano stood a hand‐lettered sign: “Smile—God Loves You.”


ADVERTISEMENTContinue reading the main story




Mary Lou Williams began her career as a child prodigy n Pittsburgh and became a seminal jazz figure in Kansas City in her early 20's. Now, at 64, she is a cheerfully vital woman who speaks with passionate conviction about the spiritual qualities of jazz. the destructiveness of rock music (“the rhythm is corny and stiff”) and the importance of getting young black musicians back to the musical heritage she feels they have lost.




“Anybody under 30 now is not playing jazz,” she declared. “The kids today can't hear the old changes. I've sat in this apartment for two months trying to teach young bass players.”

Jazz, she believes, Is “spiritual and healing to the soul. It's the only true art in the world.” Alarmed at the daring of that statement, she added, “Oh, should I say that?

“Well,” Miss Williams went on, “I think jazz is as spiritual as the spirituals. I heard my grandparents speak of slavery. They told me what happened. The slaves used the spirituals to forget what. was happening. The spirituals came out of great suffering and jazz was born from the spirituals.”

About 20 years ago Mary Lou Williams thought jazz was disappearing. Newcomers to the music, she felt, had lost the heritage that she and other earlier jazz musicians had created. The sounds of modern jazz, in her opinion, were neurotic, disturbed.

LAMONT BUTLER ‎– IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE ( 1981 ).WONDERFUL GOSPEL SOUL & GROOVE ALBUM.KEN SPENCE,DONNIE BRIDGES,JOE DEBOW,RICK DEBOW,OLIA KIRBY,RONNIE LEWIS (3),BRYAN MANLEY...Born 1949 in Louisville, Kentucky; Lamont Butler was drawn to music and dance from the very beginning. He was the son of a well-known gospel, blues and R&B singer and pianist Clifford Butler Sr, receiving an early education in what’s required to be a touring musician. It quickly became apparent that Lamont had a wonderful voice and was pushed to the front despite no being fully confident yet of his singing ability. Lamont performed on the gospel circuit for a number of years cutting his teeth with groups such as The Enterprise, The Dynamics and The New Beginnings eventually going solo with Lamont Butler and The Spirit of Truth. It was whilst he was singing and performing during this period that he started to write his own songs and think about putting together an album bringing together all of his influences from R&B, jazz, soul and of course gospel. The result is very raw, almost low-fi sound of It’s Time For A Change, released nearly 10 years after Lamont started to pen the first tracks and it gained relative success. He toured the album around churches in Louisville with tracks such as Love One Another, Time For A Change and Ungodly War quickly becoming firm favourites within the churches of Louisville.

https://milesawayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/its-time-for-a-change
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCawL51il_PKLGJQg0aopO9A



Lamont Butler ‎– It's Time For A Change



Label:
Blessed Records (4) ‎– 721, Blessed Records (4) ‎– JRC 81004
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album

Land:
US
Veröffentlicht:
1981
Genre:
Funk / Soul
Stil:
Gospel


TracklisteVerberge Mitwirkende

A1 Get Up And Praise The Lord
Arranged By, Written-By – Lamont Butler 4:24
A2 Brighter World
Written-By – Lamont Butler 6:09
A3 Thank You Lord
Written-By – Cliff Butler Sr.* 4:56
A4 Love One Another
Written-By – Cliff Butler Sr.* 3:59
B1 Time For A Change
Written-By – Lamont Butler 4:08
B2 Come Into God's World
Written-By – Lamont Butler 3:49
B3 Smile
Written-By – Cliff Butler Sr.* 5:04
B4 Ungodly War
Written-By – Lamont Butler 4:42


Unternehmen usw.

Published By – Truth Publishing
Recorded At – H&T Recording Company

Mitwirkende

Backing Vocals – Albert Marshal, Ken Spence, Kenneth Morton, Margie Marshal
Backing Vocals [Solo], Engineer [Mix Down] – Dave Rowland (2)
Backing Vocals, Producer [Assistant] – Lamont Butler
Bass Guitar – Donnie Bridges
Congas, Percussion – Joe Debow
Drums – Dave Beck (3), Dewight Massey
Engineer [Mix Down] – C. Butler Sr.*
Flute, Saxophone, Vocals, Percussion – Rick Debow
Guitar – Jacques Smith, Olia Kirby, Ronnie Lewis (3)
Organ, Piano, Directed By – Bryan Manley
Photography By – Nat Brown (4)
Producer, Executive-Producer – Cliff Butler Sr.*




It was 50 years ago that a talented local musician named Lamont Butler started to create an album that would combine love, happiness and joy. Lamont’s only official album release It’s Time For A Change has been very popular for record collectors around the world but never saw the wider success it truly deserved.

Born 1949 in Louisville, Kentucky; Lamont Butler was drawn to music and dance from the very beginning. He was the son of a well-known gospel, blues and R&B singer and pianist Clifford Butler Sr, receiving an early education in what’s required to be a touring musician. It quickly became apparent that Lamont had a wonderful voice and was pushed to the front despite no being fully confident yet of his singing ability. Lamont performed on the gospel circuit for a number of years cutting his teeth with groups such as The Enterprise, The Dynamics and The New Beginnings eventually going solo with Lamont Butler and The Spirit of Truth.

It was whilst he was singing and performing during this period that he started to write his own songs and think about putting together an album bringing together all of his influences from R&B, jazz, soul and of course gospel. The result is very raw, almost low-fi sound of It’s Time For A Change, released nearly 10 years after Lamont started to pen the first tracks and it gained relative success. He toured the album around churches in Louisville with tracks such as Love One Another, Time For A Change and Ungodly War quickly becoming firm favourites within the churches of Louisville.

Miles Away Records are pleased to working with Lamont and to be issuing a long overdue album reissue of It’s Time For A Change on LP and CD. Remastered with care by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering and complete with in-depth sleeve.

https://www.milesawayrecords.co.uk/releases/lamontbutler

MA004

Lamont Butler

In our short history we have been lucky enough to have worked with a range of talented artists who also happen to be lovely people. We are proud to represent their music and build relationships with them along the way. We feel it’s important to tell their stories as best we can; so we’ll be using this platform to shine a spotlight on each of the artists we’ve worked with so far.

Lamont Butler & The New Beginnings

First up is Lamont William Butler Sr, the most recent artist we’ve worked with. His album It’s Time For A Change came out a few months back. Born 1949 in Louisville, Kentucky; Lamont Butler was drawn to music and dance from the very beginning. He was the son of a well-known gospel, blues and R&B singer and pianist Clifford Butler Sr, receiving an early education in what’s required to be a touring musician. Lamont would carry his dad’s equipment and help him set up at live gigs all over town but was never allowed to stay too late. Clifford taught him to think about what he’s doing, how he’s doing it and to really tune into people and the crowd when performing.

Lamont Butler & The New Beginnings performing in Louisville, Kentucky

At school he loved football and didn’t have a strong desire to sing or perform but for some reason he always found himself in the school musical. It wasn’t until he was 14-year old that he really became interested in singing, he started to hear melodies, see lyrics and really find his voice. He would frequently listen to his Dad sing in the shower mimicking his tone and harmonies as well as watching groups such as The O’Jays on TV. Lamont joined a variety of groups as a backing singer predominately, where he performed in local churches and clubs around Louisville. It quickly became apparent that Lamont had a wonderful voice and was pushed to the front despite not being fully confident yet of his singing ability. Lamont performed on the gospel circuit for a number of years cutting his teeth with groups such as The Enterprise, The Dynamics and The New Beginnings eventually going solo with Lamont Butler and The Spirit of Truth.

Lamont Butler & The Spirit Of Truth

It was whilst he was singing and performing during this period that he started to write his own songs and think about putting together an album. With the support of his Dad and his family in particular his brother, who was his second biggest fan (after his dad). He was convinced to record the album at his Dad’s four track recording studio where he was able to bring together all of his influences from R&B, jazz, soul and of course gospel.

Lamont Butler in the recording studio with George Dawson

At the time it’s fair to say Lamont didn’t really know what he was doing in the studio nor did he really know how the album was going to turn out. He had access to a lot of great musicians, enabling him to rehearse and jam all the time which all contributed to creating a certain free spirit throughout the album. A dynamic mix of jazz, soul and R&B. It’s Time For A Change was released nearly 10 years after Lamont started to pen the first tracks and it gained relative success. He toured the album around churches in Louisville with tracks such as Love One Another, Time For A Change and Ungodly War quickly becoming firm favourites within the churches of Louisville.

Lamont Butler performing in Louisville, Kentucky

 Despite this popularity the album in Lamont’s own words “has only ever been released in Kentucky” and “never reached as many people as it should have”. This was partly due to the death of Lamont’s Dad who had been the guiding force behind the album and his career. At this point Lamont entered a period where he’d perform less regularly and ultimately dropped out of music seeking a living elsewhere. He occasionally performed locally in Louisville thereafter however like his Dad, he believes his voice has got better with age and is now retiring from his current job to go back full swing into music, writing and performing once again.

Lamont Butler, 1999

THEATRE WEST – THEATRE WEST ( 1976 ) & VARIOUS – SOUL LOVE NOW: THE BLACK FIRE RECORDS STORY 1975-1993.CLASSIC SOUL & INCREDIBLE VIBES,SPIRITUAL JAZZ,JAZZ-FUNK,PERFECT TRACKS ( AND INTRODUCTION IN OTHER GEMS IN LP´S ) .INCLUDE ONENESS OF JUJU–AFRICAN RHYTHMS (LIVE IN WASHINGTON DC, 1975).Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Theatre West was a music and drama troupe that travelled and performed throughout the US during the 1970s. Made up of musicians, singers and dancers, it was led by composer and playwright Clarence Young III. “The group gained local and national fame In 1971 with the production of ‘The System’, which portrays the plight of being black in a prison called America ... performing skits, songs and dances based on the theme that black people are ‘children of tomorrow's dream, today's spirit, and tomorrow's hope." ...

 https://www.backatcharecords.com/product/theatre-west-limited-ep

https://black-fire.bandcamp.com/album/soul-love-now-the-black-fire-records-story-1975-1993

Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, spanning 1975 to 1993.

Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju.
The band’s ‘African Rhythms’ album in 1975 was the perfect fusion of jazz, deep African polyrhythms and empowering lyrics and bassist Muzi Branch, a trained artist, created the first of many Black Fire hand-illustrated sleeves for this release.
The album set the tone for a series of landmark releases on the label including Oneness Of Juju’s ‘Space Jungle Luv’ (1976) and debuts from soulman Wayne Davis (1976) and early go go pioneers Experience Unlimited (1977).
Gray continued to use his influence and strong A&R instincts to bring in more key artists – great jazz players like Byard Lancaster and
Hamiet Bluiett, Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante and talented collectives including Southern Energy Ensemble and music / drama troupe Theatre West. Due to personal and cashflow issues, many releases had to be canned and only surfaced subsequently on CD releases during the early ‘90s.

‘Soul Love Now’ brings together some of the many highlights
from the label onto one essential compilation. Opening with Theatre West’s powerful soul message ‘Children of Tomorrow’s Dreams’, the tracks include a Byard Lancaster recording with Tunde Kuboye’s Drummers Of Ibadan in Nigeria and Lon Moshe’s driving jazz dance classic ‘Doin’ The Carvin’ For Thabo’. Wayne Davis brings the explosive gospel rare groove ‘Look At The People’ while Plunky’s JuJu and Oneness Of Juju feature with three tracks spanning their career, including
a storming previously unreleased version of the classic ‘African Rhythms’ recorded in DC in 1975.
‘Black Fire’ features extended sleeve notes with extended interviews with musicians from the label and includes a reprint of one of the three Black Fire magazines published by Jimmy Gray which predated the launch of the label. 

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-children-of-tomorrows-dreams-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-cool-out-your-mind-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-no-more-junk-1976

https://soundcloud.com/backatcharecords/theatre-west-searching-for-ourselves-1976

Limited 12" EP w/full colour art-work - Four recordings of Theatre West on vinyl for the first time from the vaults of Black Fire Records.

Originally recorded in 1976 in DC for Jimmy Gray’s Black Fire Records (Oneness Of JuJu, Experience Unlimited, Okyerema Asante ‎etc), Theatre West’s studio efforts remained shelved until 1993 when a local CD-only release was made available from Gray’s tape archives as evidence of its existence.

Now in November 2019, Theatre West’s recordings are released on vinyl for the first time by Backatcha Records thanks to James ‘Plunky Nkabinde’ Branch who supplied the original master tapes recorded at Arrest Recording Studios in Washington, DC.

Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Theatre West was a music and drama troupe that travelled and performed throughout the US during the 1970s. Made up of musicians, singers and dancers, it was led by composer and playwright Clarence Young III.

“The group gained local and national fame In 1971 with the production of ‘The System’, which portrays the plight of being black in a prison called America ... performing skits, songs and dances based on the theme that black people are ‘children of tomorrow's dream, today's spirit, and tomorrow's hope." (WSU Guardian Student Publication, 1972)

Fellow musician and composer Delbert Taylor was Musical Director for Theatre West. A Dayton native known for his work with Slave and Gil Scott Heron’s Midnight Band, he’d previously recorded with The Fabulous Originals on their one-off sought-after funk burner 45 ‘It Ain't Fair But It's Fun’. By the mid-70s he was based in Washington, DC alongside fellow Theatre West and Midnight Band players including vibes-player Ben Wilson and bass-man Sigmond Dillard, often collaborating on recordings with local jazz musicians.

Performing a play called ‘Black Love’ in theatres around the city, Theatre West’s musical output was all soul, funk and jazz, catching the attention of disc jockey Jimmy Gray who was scouting for talent for his new Black Fire imprint. Alongside Clarence Thomas and his troupe, Gray co-produced an album’s worth of Theatre West recordings at Arrest Studios. However, due to funding shortages and other commitments, the tapes never materialised onto record until now.