MIRAGE

Description

The Awakening was the only "group" recorded by Black Jazz, for which they released two albums; these two releases are among the most sought after in the label's entire catalog. Recorded in 1972, Hear, Sense, and Feel marked the group's debut and featured the same lineup as the following year's Mirage. Hailing from Chicago, The Awakening's formation has, unsurprisingly, a close connection to the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), which regarded The Art Ensemble of Chicago as one of its most esteemed artists; in fact, bassist Reggie Willis and tenor saxophonist/flutist Ari Brown were members of the AACM and appeared on albums with Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, and Anthony Braxton, among others. The other members of The Awakening, on the other hand, came from the city's soul jazz scene, particularly from Young Holt Unlimited, for whom co-leaders Frank Gordon, trumpeter, and keyboardist Ken Chaney played (trombonist Steve Galloway played on Melvin Jackson's classic soul jazz album, Funky Skull). And it is at this ideal point, somewhere between free jazz and the Afrocentric explorations of the Art Ensemble and the rhythmic soul jazz sound recorded on Chicago labels like Brunswick and Cadet, that Hear, Sense and Feel lands. This blue vinyl edition with black swirl features liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Images and Sounds of Black.