Archie Shepp

Tip! Archie Shepp has many made many Afrocentric statements in his long distinguished career but this meeting with Algerian and Touareg musicians in 1969 ranks among his greatest artistic achievements. The backdrop was the inaugural Pan African Festival Of Culture that took place in Algiers in July 1969 in order to promote solidarity among African nations at a time when many were emerging from the yoke of colonialism and some were still fighting for freedom. Their struggle chimed with the Black Power movement in America, which the likes of Archie Shepp vocally supported.

Accompanied by compatriots, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, trumpeter Clifford Thornton, pianist Dave Burrell, double bassist Alan Silva and drummer Sunny Murray Shepp blows with both fiery, bluesy passion and soulful tenderness on lengthy pieces in which the Touareg percussion and double reed horns create dancing rhythms that regularly turn into a deep trance groove. Joining the two groups are poets Ted Joans and Don Lee, who deliver thought-provoking verse on the significance of the occasion, declaring emphatically that the African-Americans have come home to Africa, the land they consider to be the heartland of what is known as jazz.

This newly remastered version of Live At The Panafrican Festival provides an opportunity to enjoy historic music that was in the vanguard of collaborations between African-American and African artists. Archie Shepp and the Touaregs embodied an ideal of unity across the Black Diaspora that still resonates strongly to this day.