VA - Black Fire! New Spirits! Radical And Revolutionary Jazz In The U.S.A. 1957-1982 [2014] (2 x CDs)

SOUL JAZZ

VA - Black Fire! New Spirits! Radical And Revolutionary Jazz In The U.S.A. 1957-1982 [2014] (2 x CDs)

Released in 2014 by Soul Jazz Records, Black Fire! New Spirits! is a revelatory 2-CD compilation chronicling 25 years of radical, spiritual jazz and Afrocentric experimentation. It documents a vital chapter in American jazz history, one shaped by independent labels, community activism, and sonic resistance.

The title nods to Black Fire Records, a Washington D.C. imprint founded in the 1970s by Jimmy Gray and saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch. But the scope is national, spanning artists from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and beyond. United by a commitment to Black liberation and cultural affirmation, these musicians forged new languages of identity and protest, outside the commercial jazz mainstream.

Featured artists include Joe McPhee, The Last Poets, Doug Carn, Oneness of Juju, Phil Ranelin, and Travis Biggs. Their work blends modal jazz, funk, free improvisation, and spoken word, often rooted in Afrocentric philosophy. Tracks like “Space Jungle Funk” and “Black Renaissance” pulse with urgency, layering polyrhythms, chants, and cosmic textures.

The compilation also honors labels like Strata-East, Tribe, Black Jazz, and Black Fire—artist-run collectives that prioritized autonomy over marketability. Their releases, often pressed in small batches and distributed locally, are now prized by collectors and sampled by producers seeking spiritual depth.

Remastering is sympathetic, preserving warmth and grit while enhancing clarity. More than a compilation, Black Fire! New Spirits! is a cultural document, a portal into a world where jazz served as testimony, healing, and transformation. These artists weren’t just playing, they were imagining new futures. (B)

==========================================================

ALL 

OR

ALL 

-=========================================================

Track lists

CD1

01 Yusef Lateef - Chang, Chang, Chang 3:01

02 Last Poets - It's A Trip 4:46

03 Don Cherry - Utopia and Visions 6:35

04 Richard Davis - Dealin' 6:06

05 Archie Shepp - Blasé 10:27

05 Pheeroan akLaff - Tzaddi Vau (Part 1) 2:23

06 Grachan Moncur III - Angela's Angel 2:16

07 Tyrone Washington - Universal Spiritual Revolt 8:29

CD2

01 Creative Arts Ensemble - Flashback of Time 10:57

02 David Lee - Second Line March 1:42

03 Harold McKinney - In The Moog 10:54

04 Lloyd McNeill - The Banjo Lesson 8:33

06 Joe Henderson - Black Narcissus 4:51

07 Doug Hammond - Spaces and Things 5:10

12 Pheeroan akLaff - Tzaddi Vau (Part 1) 2:23

=============================================================

=============================================================

Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

=============================================================

=============================================================