Alabama Singing Quilters Inspire Great Jazz

Here's a programme to inspire, Jazz on BBC Radio 3: the Jaimeo Brown Trio and the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, a community of singers in the deep spiritual tradition of the American South.

Programme information (BBC):

"Jaimeo Brown's debut album released earlier this year draws on the rich musical traditions of the American South. Most prominent are samples of spirituals sung by the Gee's Bend quilters, a remote community of artisans in Alabama, variously treated as the basis for improvisation or as the chorus in passages of call and response. The album is called Transcendence, a reflection of Brown's deep religiosity as well as his circling, shimmering compositions that build to an ecstatic crescendo.

Somewhat unusually for a composer/ bandleader, Brown is a drummer; he leads this trio - including saxophonist John Allen on saxophone and guitarist/ producer Chris Sholar - from behind the kit".

Presenter: Jez Nelson Producers: Peggy Sutton; Chris Elcombe.

The Exhibition (Smithsonian)

Deep South Magazine