Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
Price: $12.00
All ages
Rex Theater
1602 E Carson St
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
"Grandfather's Gun" from The Race Riot Suite
JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY - THE RACE RIOT SUITE
For its 21st album, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey reaches into the dark annals of its hometown's history and emerges with a masterwork: The Race Riot Suite. Written, arranged and orchestrated by Chris Combs, the album is a long-form conceptual piece that tells the devastating story of the 1921 Tulsa race riot-- a real estate-driven ethnocide occurring under the guise of citizen-dispensed justice. The oil-elite, civic government and local press colluded to take advantage of a racially tense climate in Jim Crow-era Oklahoma, resulting in the death of hundreds of black Tulsans and the destruction of an entire city district.
Through jittery, propulsive rhythms and melodies, the album reflects an onlooker's journey through the night that changed Tulsa's landscape and nearly destroyed the country's most thriving black community. The music is at times nostalgic, bombastic, anguished and mournful, yet ultimately a celebration of the Greenwood community and its unflinching resiliency.
In addition to the permanent line-up of Combs (lap steel), Brian Haas (piano), Josh Raymer (drums) and Jeff Harshbarger (bass), the quartet enlisted the assistance of world class horn players Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews Band), Steven Bernstein (Sex Mob, Levon Helm), Peter Apfelbaum (Hieroglyphics, Don Cherry), Mark Southerland (Snuff Jazz) and Matt Leland (a founding JFJO member).
"The adventurous jazz band's latest project pays tribute to Tulsa's Greenwood community, destroyed in a 1921 race riot, while evoking the creative output of 1920s Oklahoma…the score captures the energy of Greenwood's fervent churchgoers and the rollicking territory dance bands that crisscrossed the Southwest." -Los Angeles Times
"Both musically and spiritually, The Race Riot Suite is a significant, important work" –JazzIz
"…the 12-part suite pinballs between majestic melodies, free improv and ragged New Orleans rhythms, sometimes all within the same song…expect a heavy dose of history, but an even heavier dose of forward-looking, down-home jazz." -Time Out New York
"The new Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (+ horns) album might be their best" –NPR's A Blog Supreme
"And the jazz gods were pleased..." -Huffington Post
JACOB FRED JAZZ ODYSSEY - THE RACE RIOT SUITE
For its 21st album, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey reaches into the dark annals of its hometown's history and emerges with a masterwork: The Race Riot Suite. Written, arranged and orchestrated by Chris Combs, the album is a long-form conceptual piece that tells the devastating story of the 1921 Tulsa race riot-- a real estate-driven ethnocide occurring under the guise of citizen-dispensed justice. The oil-elite, civic government and local press colluded to take advantage of a racially tense climate in Jim Crow-era Oklahoma, resulting in the death of hundreds of black Tulsans and the destruction of an entire city district.
Through jittery, propulsive rhythms and melodies, the album reflects an onlooker's journey through the night that changed Tulsa's landscape and nearly destroyed the country's most thriving black community. The music is at times nostalgic, bombastic, anguished and mournful, yet ultimately a celebration of the Greenwood community and its unflinching resiliency.
In addition to the permanent line-up of Combs (lap steel), Brian Haas (piano), Josh Raymer (drums) and Jeff Harshbarger (bass), the quartet enlisted the assistance of world class horn players Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews Band), Steven Bernstein (Sex Mob, Levon Helm), Peter Apfelbaum (Hieroglyphics, Don Cherry), Mark Southerland (Snuff Jazz) and Matt Leland (a founding JFJO member).
"The adventurous jazz band's latest project pays tribute to Tulsa's Greenwood community, destroyed in a 1921 race riot, while evoking the creative output of 1920s Oklahoma…the score captures the energy of Greenwood's fervent churchgoers and the rollicking territory dance bands that crisscrossed the Southwest." -Los Angeles Times
"Both musically and spiritually, The Race Riot Suite is a significant, important work" –JazzIz
"…the 12-part suite pinballs between majestic melodies, free improv and ragged New Orleans rhythms, sometimes all within the same song…expect a heavy dose of history, but an even heavier dose of forward-looking, down-home jazz." -Time Out New York
"The new Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (+ horns) album might be their best" –NPR's A Blog Supreme
"And the jazz gods were pleased..." -Huffington Post
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