Two jazz giants of two generations have come together for a collaborative project. Let My People Go, a duo recording by saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Jason Moran, compiled from a series of duet performances from 2017 and 2018. The 83-year-old Shepp has been a force in the jazz world for six decades. A collaborator in the 1960s with Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane, the saxophonist had a formative effect on the development of avant-garde jazz and many of his albums during those periods had a political bent as well. His musical palette broadened considerably from the 1970s onward, with explorations of African music, blues, spirituals, and staples of the swing and bebop repertoire. Shepp became a poet, was an educator for 30 years and at this point can certainly claim to be a historian on Black culture.
Though just over half Shepp’s age—he will turn 46 next month—Moran is no less a force. The pianist and composer is a MacArthur Fellow, the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and an acclaimed musician and bandleader known for assaying the full spectrum of jazz history. Moran has performed in a saxophone-piano duet before, with Shepp contemporary, Charles Lloyd on 2013’s Hagar’s Song. Shepp and Moran first met backstage at Belgium’s annual JazzMiddelheim Festival in 2015. The Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Jazz since 2014 and an educator at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Moran has worked with artists such as Cassandra Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, and many others, in addition to his own solo work. In five quick years, Shepp and Moran’s friendship has grown, and they have cultivated the chances to perform together: co-headlining or as guests on each other’s gigs, in Europe and the U.S., sometimes with a rhythm section and singers, and as often, just the two of them. Let My People Go, however, is their first recording together.
This is an ideal album to be released during Black History Month as jazz journalist Ashley Kahn writes, “Both were born in the Deep South, raised up in the sound of the blues and black gospel: Shepp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Moran in Houston, Texas. Both fell in love with jazz and other forms of cultural expression, and followed their muses north… Even as they maintain their own individual approaches, their mutual ardor for the African American cultural tradition embraces all leaves, branches, and—especially—its roots. Love and pride and an abiding sense of message-giving that defies years and categories. That’s the essence of these performances. There’s an old African American proverb that says, “The spirit will not descend without a song.” Let My People Go is a supreme example of this idea. In this music, one can hear how, when two deeply connected souls meet, the message in the music is clarified and amplified, how its power is increased exponentially. Listen to what they say to each other, and what their music has to say to us.”
This is a collection of Negro spirituals such as “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “Go Down Moses,” along with such classics as “Isfahan,” “Wise One,” “Lush Life” and “Round Midnight.” Shepp plays soprano, tenor, and sings on several of the tunes. They have released a single and video for “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” essaying a somber take where Shepp emotes requisite anguish on both the soprano and vocals while Moran supports in bluesy fashion. Shepp’s deep voice and phrasing reflects the wise sage that he is. As the opening cut on the album, it sets the stage for what follows, many of which sound like two friends alternately musing or conversing. There are lighter moments and even laughter in a couple of spots, but the takeaway is ultimately spiritual and reverent.
The standard “Isfahan,” written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, first appeared on 1967’s Far East Suite with altoist Johnny Hodges as soloist. Shepp plays tenor on this version veering from ballad mode to freer jazz as Moran mostly comps. “He Cares” is another solemn tune with Shepp soaring on soprano, as he and Moran combine for several exclamatory statements. “Go Down Moses” begins, sounding like a continuation of that piece, although Moran summons some more powerful chords behind Shepp’s soprano before delivering a much quieter, deliberate solo. It’s not until the 5:20 mark that Shepp enters with his commanding vocal. The breathy tenor returns on “Wise Man,” a tune long associated with Coltrane, first appearing on1964’s Crescent and one that Shepp has performed with various configurations throughout his storied career. This extended 13-minute version has both musicians expressing themselves both spiritually and aggressively, nodding to Trane and McCoy but taking it in their own direction just the same. If you doubted how much Shepp had left, this is the affirmative clincher.
Continuing Coltrane’s legacy in a sense, the duo follows with the classic “Lush Life,” again with Shepp on tenor and spoken word-like vocals unlike Billy Eckstine or Johnny Hartman This is a freer, more angular inventive version, the kind that only Shepp could pull off, with steadfast support from Moran, of course. It’s as if one can picture the protagonist, already a bit dizzy, staggering to that “small dive” in this intimate live performance. Moran solos as well, in an unpredictable manner and Shepp’s last utterance of the lyric “lonely” and Moran’s note is the perfect close. “Round Midnight” is done Monk style with Shepp’s tenor and Moran’s resounding chords, yet the pianist steps out with a rather minimalist solo. Shepp rejoins to restate the theme, animated before segueing to a syncopated close, each in step with the other.
This is a keeper where every note counts. The two masters are so connected, it’s revealing to consider this is their first recording. Hopefully, there is more where this came from.
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