{"id":6544,"date":"2023-08-17T23:21:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T04:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=6544"},"modified":"2023-12-26T22:59:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T04:59:44","slug":"something-bigger-jbl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/something-bigger-jbl\/","title":{"rendered":"Something Bigger: A Conversation with James Brandon Lewis on Mahalia Jackson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Often, many place a wall between the secular and the religious, as though neither influences the other. In reality, both can find value in one another\u2019s efforts to find or provide meaning to the world. James Brandon Lewis, the son of a science teacher and a pastor, is uniquely positioned to understand the complementary nature of both realms. Approached in conjunction, his Red Lily Quintet\u2019s two albums to date – Jesup Wagon<\/em> (TAO Forms, 2021) and For Mahalia, with Love<\/em> (TAO Forms, 2023) – seemingly lay testament to the shared nature of these concepts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Jesup Wagon<\/em>, Lewis tributed one of the most prominent Black scientists of the early twentieth century, George Washington Carver. In addition to countless inventions to his credit, Carver was an environmentalist leader who found new ways to improve depleted soil. In 1941, Time magazine even dubbed him \u201ca Black Leonardo\u201d for his inventions and ingenuity. Carver spread much of his knowledge to communities by mobile classroom on the album\u2019s self-titular wagon. Lewis\u2019 vehicle for communication evokes its namesake on its title track by mimicking a wooden wheel bumping along a dirt path, while the balladic \u201cArachis\u201d imputes a significance to the peanut for which Carver was best known. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some ways, it is more difficult for a musician to credibly profile Mahalia Jackson. Too many have the beauty and grandeur of their voice permanently written into their musical subconscious. How does one approach, with honor, one of the finest musicians of all time without minimizing the original work? For Lewis, the answer lies in avoiding mere imitation and instead formatting the work as a conversation between himself, his grandmother, and the Queen of Gospel, with their shared love of music and connections to the church as common ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider \u201cSparrow.\u201d Initially built from the hymn, \u201cHis Eye is on the Sparrow\u201d, the album\u2019s opener is a contemplative yet simple melody, reflective of the piece\u2019s lyrics noting that no matter how bad things may seem, God is still watching over his children. Jackson\u2019s version came a half-century after its original composition but has met with such renown that it is perhaps her best-known song<\/a>. Her version even received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2010. Lewis\u2019 fairly sparse opening moments undoubtedly pay homage to the famous rendition, but he\u2019s not content to copy it. Instead, he bookends the piece by playing duo with cornetist Kirk Knuffke on a version of his own tranquil \u201cEven the Sparrow.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or \u201cSwing Low\u201d, a song Lewis may have heard his grandmother sing at a service. The composition is an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement where Jackson played a central role, even performing often at Dr. Martin Luther King\u2019s rallies. As for Lewis, he approaches it with a soulfully upbeat tempo that gradually unwinds into different threads. When joined by skittering drums and bass and cornetist Kirk Knuffke\u2019s pointillistic lines, it morphs into an Ayler-esque melody. It concludes with a series of saxophone scoops and a tight cymbal rhythm that sounds almost sampled. One cannot help but sense that perhaps the bandleader is conveying to his grandmother and Ms. Jackson that while things have changed, the journey for a better society remains.\u00a0
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For Mahalia, With Love<\/em> is an astonishing recording that does more than merely salute one of the greatest artists of all time. The album extracts the beauty of Jackson\u2019s music in a way that portrays its enduring meaning, even as the context of the ages may change what makes it so powerful. The work often stylistically, even if subtly, jumps through time, reflecting her persisting legacy. It also suggests that perhaps someday we will view the forty-year-old Lewis in a similar light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PostGenre: What inspired you to create an album dedicated to Mahalia Jackson? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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James Brandon Lewis: Well, like many people, I grew up in the church. That probably cannot be understated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peeling back the layers of my story, I was exposed to Mahalia through my grandmother. The album is largely inspired by my grandmother. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was a kid, and Mahalia Jackson was someone my grandmother used to always talk about. And when I\u2019ve listened to Mahalia, I have always thought she was such an amazing vocalist. She had an incredible voice. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: So, you approach her music more through your personal connections than with a historical lens?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JBL: History is a large part of my interest as well. Mahalia deeply changed the landscape of how we think about gospel music. I mean, she even inspired the [Recording Academy] to make a whole Grammy category for gospel music. She invented the entire category of gospel music. I don’t think she ever really got accolades for that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you interact with people and learn the music’s history, you start peeling back the layers of who came before. I love Albert Ayler, but it is very important that people also know the history that predates Ayler. I have no interest in revisionist history or trying to fit the past into a set narrative. I\u2019m not going to pretend Ayler came from nowhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that there is a great lineage from Mahalia Jackson and her relationship with the father of gospel, Thomas Dorsey. A long line of incredible artists came from that line. Albert Ayler. Gene Ammons, the preacher. Hank Jones. In the 90s, you had Ang\u00e9lla Christie. People don\u2019t talk about Ang\u00e9lla as much because she is not necessarily quote-unquote, a \u201cjazz saxophonist\u201d and instead plays gospel music on her sax. And then you had Allen & Allen, a gospel group that inspired me and a friend of mine when we were kids. And a ton of duos of pianists and vocalists. And then later there were the Kirk Whalums of the world who play gospel music. I always wanted to do an album for Mahalia Jackson partly to explore that lineage, as well. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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