The 70s was a really ill time for jazz. All the great musicians of the day were no different than their popular music contemporaries in that they were swept with the rest of the community in the black-power/black-pride movements. You could see it when you looked at album art, when you read liner notes and song titles; and the essence of the jazz sound was dripping with socio-political statements. One of my favorite tracks from that era came courtesy of an underappreciated pianist – Harry Whitaker. In 1976, Harry dropped a gem on ’em. Looking back, Black Renaissance: Mind, Body and Spirit was an album that was 20 to 30 years ahead of its time. Every time I watch Def Poetry Jam or see that finger-snapping commercial on VH-1 Soul, I get nauseous since that whole scene has become so cliché and cartoonish. But back in 1976, it was fresh, to say the least. Fikisha Cumbo’s spoken word was a very new element at the time. And when coupled with New York poet Sekou Sundiata’s keen pearls and the inspired efforts from the sets’ musicians, the title track, “Black Renaissance”, a 24-minute epic divided into 3 suites, is one of jazz’ great contributions to American music.

The musicians were in rare form. Whitaker was a jazz musician who has served as maestro for other artists’ albums including Roy Ayers and Roberta Flack. He served as pianist-composer for this effort and it was his weighty chord placement that kept “Black Renaissance” sounding so important and proud throughout. Buster Williams’ bass is as thick as you’ll ever hear on that instrument and it’s his bass that acts as the intro for the 3 featured soloists. Saxophonist David Kitner (a white dude) is first up, followed by trumpet legend Woody Shaw (whose career is akin to, say, Big Pun or Jerome Brown) taking a solo "blowin’ all outside the horn." Then Azar Lawrence comes on for the final suite and murders it. All the while, Bill Hart (always one of the slickest kickin' kats) kept things grounded and groovin’. The whole song makes me feel black and proud; makes me feel like this song should be preserved in the Library of Congress.