Some Mississippi Sunday Morning

Description

Here is a truly unique musical object, enchanting recordings made on-site in the high-security prison of Parchman Farm, Mississippi (United States). Producer Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Ustad Saami, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Zomba Prison Project) recorded the prison's Sunday gospel session, and the results are unforgettable. The performances range from solo a cappella to an electric band that shakes the ground of the most famous penitentiary in the USA. The repertoire includes both traditional spirituals and new compositions. Some Mississippi Sunday Morning is an unfiltered journey with deep resonances into a musical world rarely seen or heard. In February 2023, Grammy-winning music producer Ian Brennan traveled to Mississippi to record with inmates from the infamous Parchman prison. The institution has a rich musical history: Son House, Bukka White, Mose Allison, and Elvis Presley's father, Vernon Presley, were former residents. The bureaucratic process for his visit took over three years. Having received permission just over a week prior, Brennan took a night flight to arrive on a Sunday morning for the few hours he was allowed to record. The prison chaplains called a special service made up of various singers from the dozen different sessions that take place every Sunday at Parchman. A bit shy at first, the men volunteered one by one and began singing a cappella. Inspired by one another, those who had initially refused to sing or were hesitant eventually took the mic, and many took turns throughout the morning. The gathering concluded with an impromptu concert by the entire orchestra, with musicians swapping instruments from the chapel on the fly.