Alice Coltrane
1. Prema by
feat. The Harlem Chamber Players
2. I m Troubled in Mind
by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor3. Essence of Ruby
by Brandee Younger Ennanga
by William Grant Still
feat. The Harlem Chamber Players
4. Ennanga : i
5. Ennanga : ii
6. Ennanga : iii
Ashley Jackson
harp THE HARLEM CHAMBER PLAYERS
violin
SANDRA BILLINGSLEA
CLAIRE CHAN
CHALA YANCY
viola
AMADI AZIKWE
AUNDREY MITCHELL
cello
ROBERT BURKHART
WAYNE SMITH
JESSICA WANG
bass
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON
ANTHONY MORRIS
piano
KYLE WALKER
7. The Angels
Changed My Name
by Samuel Coleridge-TaylorPREMA
In Sanskrit, “Prema” means, “pure love for the divine, which completely melts the heart.” Originally recorded in 1978 by Alice Coltrane for piano and strings, Jackson arranged Prema for harp and strings, featuring members from her musical family, The Harlem Chamber Players. Inspired by kora traditions and Coltrane’s own sense of suspended time, Jackson uses Coltrane’s recording as a starting point for new musical moments and figurations.
I’M TROUBLED IN MIND
Arranged for solo piano by Samuel ColeridgeTaylor, “I’m Troubled in Mind’’ is a spiritual that reflects a highly personalized sense of grief and loss, taking us into the darker corners of the enslaved’s psyche. This particular melody so moved Coleridge-Taylor that he used it in other instrumental works.
ESSENCE OF RUBY
Brandee Younger originally composed EssenceofRuby for her ensemble, who recorded the piece on her 2016 album Wax and Wane. In 2018, she created a solo harp version that incorporated a lot of the original lines, while keeping the essence of this groove-based tune. Younger was inspired by Dorothy Ashby’s EssenceofaSapphire from her album, The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby (1965).
ENNANGA: I
The title track of the album, Ennanga, is William Grant Still’s chamber work for solo harp, string quintet, and piano. Composed in the 1950s at the request of harpist Lois Adele Craft, Ennanga takes its name from a type of harp played in Uganda. Since its completion in 1956, there have been only two professionally-released recordings: one by Craft, and more recently, by Ann HobsonPilot. Inspired by their distinct interpretations, Jackson also wanted to highlight both the rhythmic ambiguity and sense of improvisation that we hear throughout the movement.
ENNANGA: II
The second movement of Still’s Ennanga brings out the lyrical side of the harp in a way that we haven’t heard before. The main melody has a familiarity to it, for it vaguely resembles “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.”
Gentle lines are tossed seamlessly between the harp and piano, while the strings softly interject with call-and-response textures.
ENNANGA: III
After a stately harp introduction, the final movement takes off. With driving, upbeat rhythms and jazz-inflected piano solos, the finale provides a most joyous ending to a piece that celebrates various styles from across the Black Atlantic.
THE ANGELS CHANGED MY NAME
“The Angels Changed My Name” is the second spiritual arrangement by Coleridge-Taylor that appears on this album, and also comes from his collection Twenty-FourNegro Melodies. Jackson conceived of this final track as a postlude to the celebration of black artists who’ve come before her. “The Angels Changed My Name” is about taking those lessons learned and looking to the future with optimism and in faith.
Liner notes by Ashley Jackson
Inspired by my musical heritage, Ennanga pays homage to the rich diversity of American music by exploring the musical and spiritual connections between various forms of America’s musical expression. While Ennanga celebrates the impact of West African traditions, and the centrality of the African American spiritual to the history of American music, it also highlights the artistry of black composers who have consistently redefined our musical landscape.
—ASHLEY JACKSON, JUNE 2023
Produced by Silas Brown. Engineered by Silas Brown (1), Misha Kachkachishvili (2, 3, 7), and Maureen Sickler (4, 5, 6). Mastered by Silas Brown.
Recorded at The Concert Hall at Drew University (Madison, NJ) (1); October 2021; Esplanade Studios (New Orleans, LA) February 2021 (2, 3, 7); Rudy Van Gelder Studios (Englewood Cliffs, NJ); November 2022 (4, 5, 6).
Published by Ditson (2, 7), B. Alexis Music (3), and Southern Music Company (4, 5, 6).
Cover art by Jessica Medoff, photo by Julia Comita, design by Haeg Design.