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 | Hugh RaginAn Afternoon In HarlemLabel: Justin Time | Jazz | October 21, 1999Format UPC Order # Unit Price |
Credits Amiri Baraka poetry reading (on track 07) Bruce Cox drums Andrew Cyrille drums (on track 06) and percussion (on track 07) David Murray bass clarinet (on tracks 06 and 07) Hugh Ragin trumpet Jaribu Shahid bass Craig Taborn piano Production Credits | TracksNo Title Duration Excerpts 01 An Afternoon In Harlem 00:06:53 05 Wisdom And Overstanding 00:10:27 06 The Light At The End Of The Underground Railroad 00:08:23 07 When Sun Ra Gets Blue 00:18:55 Liner Notes1. An Afternoon In Harlem was inspired by a walk through the New York City College Park in Harlem. This is a swinging-bluesy tune, a kind of transbluesency in motion. This music represents the fundamental feeling that energizes every composition on this recording.2. Not A Moment Too Soon was inspired by a ride on the A Train from Harlem to midtown. When there are only a handful of people on the train, it feels like a mini roller coaster. This is a fast blues in the bebop tradition. 3. Braxtons Dues was inspired by four years of Duo, Quartet, Quintet and notated orchestral performances and recording Composition 98 with Anthony Braxton. This genre of music has often been described as freedom swing. 4. The Moors Of Spain was inspired by the street professors, philosophers and vendors on 125th street in Harlem, between Malcom X and St. Nicholas. Discussions of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Carthage and the Moors are often presented with great enthusiasm. This composition is divided into three sections: A: "In Times Of Peace And Prosperity" represents the tonal lyrical quality of the beginning. B: "Marching To War" is signaled by the new drum cadence and a more dissonant tonality. C: "Chaos" represents the struggle to survive with sound textures and open-ended improvisation. The art of listening to this composition will require an open mind, study and research. It is also good to listen just for fun and let the music take you where it may. 5. Wisdom And Overstanding is an open-ended composition with two major sections: A: "Avant Garde Ballad" B: "Free Bop" This music is dedicated to the unknown artists, intellectuals and historians that feed the flame of conscious intellectual thought on the Harlem scene. 6. The Light At The End Of The Underground Railroad is a journey from the slave system in the South through Ohio to Canada. This music is dedicated to Harriet Tubman who was also known as Moses leading people to freedom. Her belief system was that if a person has been living in the dark ages of information, then that person, no matter how great, needs to understand the identity of God. This music sets the mood of an African caravan traveling from Africa to the southern states and then on to Canada. Harriet Tubman was the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. A runaway slave from Maryland, she made about twenty trips from the South to the North and rescued more than three hundred slaves. 7. When Sun Ra Gets Blue is an open-ended structure which is dedicated to Sun Ra. Sun Ra's dedication and discipline has been an inspiration to many musicians, artists, dancers and poets. The poem by Amiri Baraka, "Message From Sun Ra," captures the intense peace and drama of a Sun Ra performance. This music was inspired after playing with Sun Ra two nights at the Village Gate in New York during Labor Day Weekend 1987. Hugh Ragin |
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