The Way Ahead (album)
Encyclopedia
The Way Ahead is an album by Archie Shepp
released on Impulse! Records
in 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, Jimmy Owens
, Grachan Moncur III
, Walter Davis Jr., Ron Carter
, Roy Haynes
and Beaver Harris
in January 1968 with two additional tracks featuring Charles Davis, Dave Burrell
and Walter Booker
recorded in February 1969, and first released on Kwanza (1974), added to the CD release. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "The set is a glorious stretch of the old and new, with deep blues, gospel, and plenty of guttersnipe swing in the mix".
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
released on Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
in 1968. The album contains tracks recorded by Shepp, Jimmy Owens
Jimmy Owens (jazz)
Jimmy Owens is a jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer, and music education consultant. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus ... .In the 1960s,...
, Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III
Grachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
, Walter Davis Jr., Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
and Beaver Harris
Beaver Harris
William Godvin "Beaver" Harris was an American jazz drummer, who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.-Biography:...
in January 1968 with two additional tracks featuring Charles Davis, Dave Burrell
Dave Burrell
Davis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
and Walter Booker
Walter Booker
Walter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
recorded in February 1969, and first released on Kwanza (1974), added to the CD release. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "The set is a glorious stretch of the old and new, with deep blues, gospel, and plenty of guttersnipe swing in the mix".
Track listing
- "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)" (Walter Davis Jr.) - 6:16
- "Frankenstein" (Grachan Moncur III) - 13:50
- "Fiesta" (Archie Shepp) - 9:54
- "Sophisticated LadySophisticated Lady"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, to which words were added by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful—but not entirely fitted to my original conception".That...
" (Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
, Mitchell ParishMitchell ParishMitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
) - 7:08 - "New Africa" (Moncur) - 12:55 Bonus track on CD
- "Bakai" (Cal MasseyCal MasseyCalvin Massey was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.Massey studied trumpet under Freddie Webster, and following this played in the big bands of Jay McShann, Jimmy Heath, and Billie Holiday. In the late 1950s he led an ensemble with Jimmy Garrison, McCoy Tyner, and Tootie Heath; John Coltrane...
) - 10:14 Bonus track on CD- Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, January 29, 1968
Personnel
- Archie SheppArchie SheppArchie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
: tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Jimmy OwensJimmy Owens (jazz)Jimmy Owens is a jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer, and music education consultant. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus ... .In the 1960s,...
: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Grachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur IIIGrachan Moncur III is an American jazz trombonist who has mostly played free jazz, as well as being a prolific composer. He is the son of jazz bassist Grachan Moncur II and the nephew of jazz saxophonist Al Cooper.-Biography:...
: tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Walter Davis Jr.: pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(tracks 1-4) - Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
: bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(tracks 1-4) - Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 3 & 4) - Beaver HarrisBeaver HarrisWilliam Godvin "Beaver" Harris was an American jazz drummer, who worked extensively with Archie Shepp.-Biography:...
: drums (tracks 1 & 2; 5 & 6) - Charles DavisCharles Davis (saxophonist)Charles Davis is an American jazz baritone saxophonist who performed extensively with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra, among others.-Biography:...
: baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
(track 5 & 6) - Dave BurrellDave BurrellDavis Burrell is an American jazz instrumentalist, most notably on the piano. He has worked for many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.- Biography :...
: piano (tracks 5 & 6) - Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
: bass (tracks 5 & 6)