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01. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Keep Going
02. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Lord Don't Let 'Em Drop Them Goddamn Nukes On Us Lord
03. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Sojourner's Truth (For Fannie Lou Hammer
04. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Endangered Species
05. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Medgar/Malcolm/Martin
06. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Time Was (For President Barack Hussein Obama)
07. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Morning Star (For Lucy Stone)
08. Joe Mcphee/Hamid Drake - Makes Me Wanna Holler (For Representative John Lewis)
ARTIST
TITLE
Keep Going
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
CVSD 053CD CVSD 053CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
11/16/2018

It's easy to be cynical these days, maybe difficult to imagine that music can change the world, but not for Joe McPhee and Hamid Drake. With Keep Going, they will make the planet a better place for humanity, a place to be humane, to preserve humankind. At 78 years old, Poughkeepsie multi-instrumentalist McPhee is a national treasure, and he's making more music than ever before, pushing himself to tour incessantly, issuing astonishing new records at a fierce rate. But this release, with legendary Chicago percussionist Drake, is something extremely special in the midst of many special records. The duo first recorded together in 1999, having only played together a limited number of times; the resulting music was issued as Emancipation Proclamation on the OkkaDisk label. When the opportunity arose to hit the studio for a second time, McPhee and Drake had two more decades of extensive work together under their belts, as members of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet and in many other contexts. But the session somehow consolidated their shared energy in an unexpected way; the drummer's incredible warmth and sense of buoyancy, the saxophonist and trumpeter's preternatural musicality and quest for social justice. The recording started with McPhee reciting words by Harriett Tubman, resulting in the title track; Drake's support was an achingly slow Max Roach-like beat. From this inspired, inspiring starting point, the twosome frolicked through a rich program, McPhee donning tenor and alto saxes, and pocket trumpet, Drake turning momentarily to the frame drum. Each musician contributes an introspective solo track. McPhee at one point plays trumpet into an open gong, which gives him otherworldly overtones, a sort of acoustic version of electric Miles. Drake makes too few records, so anything of his is mandatory; McPhee's been on a roll lately, releasing lots of music, but Keep Going is one not to be missed.