The Inside Songs of Amiri Baraka

Abstract

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, bassist/composer William Parker created The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield. The musicians and poet on this project demonstrate what Baraka had always termed “the changing same,” for not only had Parker searched within the outlines of Mayfield’s songs to find a yet newer music, but Baraka, as he recited his poems on stage or into the studio mic, often made in-the-moment alterations. The result is one of the most profound settings for Baraka’s poetry across the course of his career. Baraka’s final recordings take their place alongside The New York Art Quartet, It’s Nation Time, New Music-New Poetry, and Real Song as the fullest statements, and best audio quality recordings left us by this artist.