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STRUT214
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Release date: 7th Aug, 2020
Format

Track Listing

ACT I: FIRE RITES OF PENANCE SHAMAN!
TANGO OF LOVE

ACT II: A GLIMPSE Of ETERNITY ETERNITY
WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?

ACT III: UPON WHOSE SHOULDERS WE STAND SALVATION
THEME FOR CECIL

ACT IV: 400 YEARS: THE CLOTILDA VIRGIN
THE LAST SLAVE SHIP
DOGON MYSTERIES
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Shaman!
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Tango of Love
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Eternity
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - When Will I See You Again?
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Salvation
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Theme for Cecil
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Virgin
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - The Last Slave Ship
Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids - Dogon Mysteries

‘Shaman!’, unveils a fresh Pyramids line-up including original 1970s member Dr. Margaux Simmons on flute, Bobby Cobb on guitar, long-term associate Sandra Poindexter on violin, Ruben Ramos on bass, Gioele Pagliaccia on drums and Jack Yglesias on percussion. The band transitions from the political and social commentaries of 2018’s acclaimed ‘An Angel Fell’ into more introspective themes. “I wanted to use this album to touch on some of the issues that we all face as individuals in the inner space of our souls and our conscience,” explains Ackamoor. “The album unfolds over four Acts with personal musical statements about love and loss, mortality, the afterlife, family and salvation.”

"The album’s 76 minutes are a brilliant, shape-shifting matrix." (The Guardian)

"Shaman! is a stellar edition to the saxophonist’s back catalogue [...] and is up there with the best of all of Ackamoor’s works." (The Quietus)

Evolving around Ackamoor's intricate compositions, the album takes us effortlessly across moods and emotions through a series of expansive, extended pieces. Starting with ritual, soul-searching, and masculine vulnerability on the title track, the band explores timeless existence on ‘Eternity’ and mourns the sudden loss of loved ones in the prescient ‘When Will I See You Again?’, a track which gains new relevance amidst the current COVID-19 crisis. Ackamoor pays tribute to his mentor Cecil Taylor on the angular ‘Theme For Cecil’ and renders homage to the ancestors on ‘Salvation’ and ‘The Last Slave Ship’, recalling the last ship to bring slaves to the US from Africa, the Clotilda. The superb ‘Virgin’ is an anthem of forgiveness, new beginnings and self-healing.

Description

Credits

released August 7, 2020

Personnel:
IDRIS ACKAMOOR: Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Keytar
Dr. MARGAUX SIMMONS: Flutes, Vocals
SANDRA POINDEXTER: Violins, Vocals
BOBBY COBB: Guitar, Effects, Vocals, Mbira
RUBEN RAMON RAMOS: Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
GIOELE PAGLIACCIA: Drums
JACK YGLESIAS: Congas, Percussion
2020, Strut Records - a division of K7 Music GmbH

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