The ambience is one of primal spirituality...sparse conversations over the controlled yet riotous ensemble performance. The result is contemplative and thrilling.
The Griots Speak's sound is at once cosmic, earthbound, and ancestral. Though new, it's familiar, a continuation of the collective creations of New York City's 1960s Loft scene, developed by the electric bands of the 1970s, and propelled into the future by Charlie Apicella & Iron City, one of New York's more enthralling Hard Bop rhythm sections. Call to Action / Call to Prayer is the companion piece to 2023's Destiny Calling. Both captured during the same session in Brooklyn, Destiny Calling highlighted the compositional scaffolding present in collective improvisation, while Call to Action —propelled by drones & grooves within hypnotic swirls and percussive incantations—is presented as an uncut 40-minute improvisation event presented in 8 "movements." The Griots—Daniel Carter, Charlie Apicella, Juma Sultan and William Parker—draw together the indigenous sounds, with organist Brad Whiteley and drummer Austin Walker of Iron City painting in moments of urban energy.
1 Call to Action: An Invocation of Those Who Came Before 3:58
2 Call to Action: With One's Elders 7:14
3 Call to Action: Concerted Effort 8:50
4 Call to Prayer: Zen Flesh, Zen Bone 4:00
5 Call to Prayer: Il Nostro Sogno 3:17
6 Call to Prayer: Rapid Synthesis of Novel Patterns 1:42
7 Call to Prayer: These Boxes Are Mostly Empty 7:41
8 Call to Prayer: Cascading Wave of Change 4:11
The Griots Speak:
Daniel Carter - saxophones, flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano
Charlie Apicella - madal drum, Tibetan singing bowls
William Parker - bass, doson ngoni, double reed: gralla, gembiri, pocket trumpet
Juma Sultan - congas, shakers, percussion
with Iron City:
Brad Whiteley - organ
Austin Walker - drums
Produced by Charlie Apicella
Executive Producer: Daniel Carter
Recorded by Peter Karl
at Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, NY
Mixed and mastered by Chris Sulit
at Trading 8s, Paramus, NJ
Recorded Nov. 13, 2022
Recording session photos by Charlie Apicella
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
*Ringer of the Week* A meeting of minds and souls takes place with the duo of Brad Whiteley/org and Austin Walker/dr joining musical forces with Daniel Carter/wwinds-tp-p, William Parker/b-reeds-tp, Charlie Apicella/dr-perc and Juma Sultan/perc . There is a surfeit of various traditional reed, string and percussive instruments included here, incl ...