If You're Not Part Of The Solution... Soul Politics & Spirituality In Jazz 1967-1975

2019 release.

In the late '60s, jazz was at a turning point. Soul music had taken much of it's black audience and rock's intellectualization was eating up it's support amongst college students. The usual story told is that jazz split between those who went out and those who tried to make people dance. The story is more nuanced, and If You're Not Part Of The Solution tries to tell that story. As a central part of the community, jazz musicians took their cues and their music reflected this.

If You're Not Part Of The Solution draws upon the melting pot of ideas that can be picked up in veteran Hammond player Johnny Smith's call for 'Black Feelings', or the cosmic wanderings of the obscure Philadelphia group Catalyst. Funk in all it's forms can be found; be it the relentless bass rhythm of the title track, or the Miles Davis-influenced shifting groove of Johnny Lytle's 'Tawhid'. It was an exciting period and the music is caught up in that, but above all there is reverence for the greats such as Davis and John Coltrane who are the pillars of a newly confident African American culture.

Tracks:

If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem - Joe Henderson Quintet

Black Feeling - Johnny Hammond Smith

Celestial Bodies - Catalyst

John Coltrane - Clifford Jordan Quartet

H.N.I.C. - Harold Vick

Tawhid - Johnny Lytle

Bitches Brew - Eddie Jefferson

Africans Unite - Gary Bartz Ntu Troop

Warriors of Peace - Azar Lawrence

Let's Make Peace and Stop the War - Funk Inc