Attica Blues

by Archie Shepp

Attica Blues cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: June 1972
  • Label: Impulse!
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 37:22
  • Community rating: 3.97/5 from 7 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Recorded as a direct, impassioned response to the Attica Prison uprising, the saxophonist composed a sprawling big band suite infused with profound political anger. Moving away from strict free jazz, the arrangements incorporate rich gospel choirs, driving funk rhythms, and spoken word poetry. The result is a vibrant, deeply soulful masterpiece of African-American protest music that remains piercingly relevant.

Genres

Descriptors: protest, orchestral, rhythmic, vocal, improvisational, saxophone

Tracklist

  1. Attica Blues (4:47)
  2. Invocation: Attica Blues (0:19)
  3. Steam (Part 1) (5:07)
  4. Invocation To Mr. Parker (3:16)
  5. Steam (Part 2) (5:08)
  6. Blues For Brother George Jackson (4:00)
  7. Invocation: Ballad For A Child (0:29)
  8. Ballad For A Child (3:36)
  9. Good Bye Sweet Pops (4:22)
  10. Quiet Dawn (6:12)

Credits

  • Archie Shepp - primary artist, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, music by, music by, lyrics by, written-by
  • Clarence White - alto saxophone
  • Marion Brown - alto saxophone, flute, flute [bamboo], percussion
  • Albertine Robinson - backing vocals
  • Jo Armstead - backing vocals
  • James Ware - baritone saxophone
  • Jimmy Garrison - bass
  • Jerry Jemmott - bass [fender]
  • Roland Wilson - bass [fender]
  • Calo Scott - cello
  • Ronald Lipscomb - cello
  • Romulus Franceschini - conductor
  • Clifford Thornton - cornet
  • Clyde Gilliam - design
  • Beaver Harris - drums, lyrics by, written-by
  • Billy Higgins - drums
  • Dave Burrell - electric piano
  • Walter Davis Jr. - electric piano
  • Tony May - engineer
  • Eddie Sepanski - engineer [assisted]
  • Hakim Jami - euphonium
  • Cal Massey - flugelhorn, written-by, music by, lyrics by
  • Cornell Dupree - guitar
  • Bartholomew Gray - narrator, text by
  • William Kunstler - narrator
  • Juma Sultan - percussion
  • Nene DeFense - percussion
  • Ollie Anderson - percussion
  • Chuck Stewart - photography by
  • Ed Michel - producer
  • Billy Robinson - tenor saxophone
  • Roland Alexander - tenor saxophone
  • Charles Greenlee - trombone
  • Charles Stephens - trombone
  • Kiane Zawadi - trombone
  • Charles McGhee - trumpet
  • Michael Ridley - trumpet
  • Roy Burrowes - trumpet
  • John Blake - violin
  • Leroy Jenkins - violin
  • Shankar - violin
  • Henry Hull - vocals
  • Joe Lee Wilson - vocals
  • Waheeda Massey - vocals

More from Archie Shepp: full discography