The Congo Square Project is an epic journey that traces the evolution of the African music that was later brewed in the heart of the city of New Orleans during the 1700′s. Recorded with a modern day Alan Lomax production approach, it moves body & soul, at the same time that it feeds the listener’s heart & mind. It has all the necessary ingredients for the spicy Gumbo that made The Crescent City famous. Including those (often overlooked) important contributions made by the Native American tribes, and the European, Caribbean & Mexican influences that soon followed.
Sacred Ground - Volume 1, the debut album in this series, opens with an Orisha blessing ceremonial introduction conducted by African Yoruba Priest-Master drummer Ayo Adeyemi (Babe Olatunji), plus a sensational performance by brazilian great Airto Moreira (Miles Davis), followed by an array of musical pieces and grooves that include a cry for HELP that comes directly from the very heart of CONGO SQUARE led by brother Luther Gray. The dance of the Bamboula, Secondliners, Dixieland, sharp Beat Poetry by Seminole Maroon activist Phil Fixico and the very eccentric LA songwriter Chuck E Weiss walking us through NOLA music history… At the very center is the historic NYC session by Levon Helm & The East Coast Gang pointing the finger at corrupted bureaucrats while ripping through “Tip On”. Featuring Levon Helm (The Band) on drums & lead vocals, Hubert Sumlin (Howlin’ Wolf) on guitar & lead vocals, Steve Jordan (Keith Richards) on drums & backing vocals, Danny ‘Kootch’ Kortchmar (Carole King) & Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) on guitars & backing vocals. Aided by Niko Bolas behind the vintage board’s controls, what a super-session. This first album comes towards it’s end some 300 years later, with The Revend Lois Dejean’s Gospel Choir’s emotional rendition of “He Knows How Much We Can Bear”. One of Mahalia Jackson’s close circle of singers showing us that the city’s African descendants, regardless of the many hardships, have always remained together throughout their difficult history thanks to their loyalty to the strong spiritual music brought from their ancestral land. Then comes ‘Uncle’ Lionel Batiste, often referred as “The Heartbeat of New Orleans”, who closes the album singing the nostalgic classic “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?”, inviting the whole world to return to sweet NOLA ( Note: Mr. Earl Palmer shed a tear when he heard this track while resting in his Palm Springs home ).
Sacred Ground – Volume 2 starts where it all began (MOTHER AFRICA), with a second Orisha blessing ceremonial introduction conducted by African Yoruba Priest-Master drummer Ayo Adeyemi (Babe Olatunji). Followed by “The Middle Passage” performed by Professor Joseph Mitchell Jnr. (LA Philharmonic), a percussion piece that reflects the painful voyage enforced on millions of slaves that crossed the Atlantic Ocean for so many centuries to build this country’s wealth. An array of Afro-Cuban influences splashes all over an album full of musical memories and personal tales of redemption. You will hear stories and mighty grooves by the very legends that made the music that counts in contemporary music: The Reverend Lois Dejean, Earl Palmer, Alfred ‘Uganda Roberts, Smoky Johnson, John Boudreaux, Jerry Jumonville, Freddy Staelhe, Benny Jones Snr., Bernard ‘Bunchy’ Johnson, etc… We also have european classical visionaries such as Thomas Bloch (Bjork/The Scala de Milan/Radiohead) recording in Paris rare instruments such as the Glass Harmonica & Crystal Baschet. Then, including a Berlin soprano’s layer of multiple voices just to represent the devastation & sadness brought by Hurricane Katrina. This virtuoso composer is found here sharing the limelight with street player extraordinaire ‘Washboard’ Chaz, a New Orleans entertainer beloved by both locals & visitors. The album ends with “These Days Are Beautiful”, a message of HOPE for a brighter future that reminds us that we NOW have another chance to reconstruct and do things RIGHT, another opportunity to try correcting the past’s wrongdoings for the forgotten city.
Vol 1 Back Cover
Vol 2 Back cover
