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2CD
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RTRCD 007CD
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"'Understanding' is a previously unreleased recording of drummer Roy Brooks captured live by the Left Bank Jazz Society at The Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, MD on November 1, 1970. Featuring a stellar band with trumpeter Woody Shaw, saxophonist Carlos Garnett, pianist Harold Mabern and bassist Cecil McBee, 'Understanding' was recorded five months after the classic live album The Free Slave (also recorded by the Left Bank Jazz Society). This recording features a full performance by great musicians at their peak, providing a 'you are there' experience of the excitement of great music and an appreciative crowd. Mastered from the original tape reels by Kevin Gray, the limited-edition 180-gram 3LP set includes an extensive booklet with rare photos, plus interviews with Carlos Garnett and Cecil McBee. Award-winning arts journalist and critic Mark Stryker contributes the main essay as well as remembrances by American journalist, educator, author, activist and friend of Roy Brooks, Herb Boyd, alto saxophone legend Charles McPherson who grew up with Roy Brooks, Louis Hayes who got Roy the gig with Horace Silver and more. This project came about as a desire by Reel to Real Recordings to make a positive contribution to Black Lives Matter. Understanding is our celebration of the talent, courage and spirit of the Black musicians who created a timeless and universal art, with the recognition that the injustices of 50 years ago are still with us. All proceeds from album sales will go directly to The Detroit Sound Conservancy. Understanding is produced with the cooperation of Cecil McBee and Carlos Garnett and the estates of Roy Brooks, Harold Mabern and Woody Shaw."
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CD
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JMAN 034CD
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Easily one of the most coveted and sought-after of all jazz LPs is the elusive Holy Grail that is Roy Brooks' Ethnic Expressions. It's not just rarity that makes a record of this nature so desirable, nor is it the compelling music within -- sometimes, like a Van Gogh or a Picasso, it's the personality of the artist himself that's inexorably entwined with the record itself that lends a fascinating, mesmeric and mythical quality that simply can't be contrived. The sixth release in Jazzman's Holy Grail series is an attentive reissue of one of Detroit drummer Roy Brooks' two LPs for the tiny Im-Hotep label out of New York. This Jazzman release is in conjunction with P-Vine Records of Tokyo, whose Japanese reissue has already vanished with only a handful having reached these shores late in 2009. Ethnic Expressions was recorded live in NYC in 1973, and exhibits a powerful message of black consciousness and spiritual freedom. This is post-Coltrane progressive jazz of the highest order! With a cry to his African roots, Brooks' music combines modal, rhythmic and Afro-centric jazz with politics, spirituality and positive vibes. The result is deep, esoteric spiritual jazz that any fan into real-deal, vibrant jazz will require as essential listening. The CD also contains a color booklet with extra pictures and liner notes translated from those written by respected Japanese jazz collector Yusuke Ogawa.
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