"BLACK
RENAISSANCE" '
Black
Renaissance' is undoubtedly one of my all time favourite tunes,
up there with Sun Ra's 'Sleeping Beauty' and Coltrane's 'A Love
Supreme'." - Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 1, London 2002.
Harry Whitaker is a piano player, producer and arranger who on MLK
day 1976, at the age of 26, recorded Black Renaissance “Body,
Mind, and Spirit,” a holy grail amongst collectors of soul-jazz
and rare groove. So rare, it’s virtually a myth to many collectors
and music aficionados.
Made up of two long tracks that periodically build and release for
forty minutes over two sides of an LP it’s an improvised masterpiece
combining Afrocentric spiritual soul, jazz, poetry, amazing solos,
a tasty bass line or two and more than a fair share of funky beats.
It’s also one of the earliest albums to feature rapping. “I
called the project Black Renaissance because that is what I wanted
to see happen – especially in music.”
Given its rarity, when asked if he was surprised that people knew
about the album Whitaker jokes “I’ve told enough people
about it over the years! Now they can actually hear it. It was a
record before it’s time.”
Harry Whitaker cut his teeth on the best of the Roy Ayers Ubiquity
releases (including playing keys on “We Live In Brooklyn Baby”
and co-producing the “Coffy” OST) on and making a living
working closely with Roberta Flack – as her musical director,
even playing on her big Eugene McDaniels’ written hit “I
Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Black Renaissance “Body,
Mind, and Spirit,” was his first attempt at a project where
he wrote and composed the music and played keys on all tracks.
This album features Woody Shaw, Azar Lawrence, Buster Williams,
Billy Hart and Mtume amongst others. CD liner notes (and album insert)
explain how this album almost never saw light of day.
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