05The Cry of My People

Archie Shepp Attica Blues Orchestra

Song: The Cry of My People

The Cry of My People from I Hear the Sound

In 1971, a rebellion in New York's Attica Prison prompted a violent police crackdown, killing 39, including 29 inmates. It prompted saxophonist Archie Shepp to record his large ensemble oratorio Attica Blues, now a classic work, in early 1972. It was funky and pan-stylistic — this was 1972, after all — and it was a bluesy protest lament — again: 1972. The work (plus Archie Shepp arrangements from around then) was revived recently at a series of concerts in France, featuring French and American musicians of multiple generations. The disc I Hear The Sound, compiled from 2012 and 2013 jazz festivals, isn't quite as tight as the studio version, and some of the revisions don't feel necessary. But you do get the raw power and emotional yearning of songs like "The Cry of My People" (featuring Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet). These pieces stood for something bigger than the sum of their many musicians, and that comes across here.