LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Spirituals: Groups
built 613 days ago
Spirituals & Dedications virtually oozes joy out of its digital bits in a way that most recent jazz CDs can’t even imagine. It’s the joy of creation and of the beauty of the musical expression contained on it, even when what’s being expressed is melancholy or painful. It’s ... the joy of a group of friends and musicians who have a wealth of mutual respect for each others’ work and for the work of the many who have come before them. Don’t miss this album, whatever you do.
Source:
The world at large first heard Spirituals in the 1870s, shortly after the Civil War emancipated America's blacks. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, a group of ex-slaves, toured the United States and Britain with orchestral renditions. Many listeners were amazed at the vitality of what they heard. Western music soon showed the influence. Spirituals, which had rescued faithful black Christians from "sinkin' down," now added vitality to the musical idioms of the world.
Source:
The idea of the album is pretty simple: some of the tracks are spirituals, and others are imbued with a spiritual quality that is quite palpable. Many of them are dedications, honoring the spirit or memory of a particularly cherished performer. And it is a collaborative session, organized by Jane Bunnett and her husband Larry Cramer, but not led by them, or anyone else. The idea was to get performers together who might not have played together, but who shared certain elements in their playing or personalities. Of course, Bunnett has worked with many of these artists before—Dewey Redman performed on her album In Dew Time, agent-turned-vocalist Dean Bowman used to book Bunnett’s group and appeared on the album Ritmo + Soul with Bunnett and Cramer. Bunnett performed recently with Stanley Cowell’s Piano Choir.
Source:
In 1871, spirituals were introduced to other parts of the United States by a group of blacks called the Jubilee Singers, of Fisk University. They traveled throughout the United States, and to England and Germany, giving concerts to raise money for their school. Other black schools followed their example. The black quartets from Hampton Institute and Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) became famous.
Source:
The well known spiritual "Summertime" with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by DuBose Heyward is an excellent example of the tradition of black spirituals in America. The song begins with the phrase "summertime an' the livin' is easy", this lyric, is the same as the one used by the ska-hardcore band Sublime in their song "Doin' Time". The fact that a pop music group in the 1990's would use the same line first written and sung in the 1930's is telling. The powerful influence of spiritual or sacred music took over a century to develop, but is quite evident today.
Source:
At the same time, boys used to form “quartets” to sing spirituals outdoor in schoolyards or elsewhere. They gave birth to “street singers” who where boys, and adults as well. Then, many schools managers sponsored both jubilee groups and “quartets” (Livingstone College, Bennett College, etc.).
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Groups