Carl B. Stokes / Oliver Nelson ‎– The Mayor And The People (1970)

 An incredibly interesting record – and more of a spoken album than a jazz one, but it shares some great jazz work by Oliver Nelson too! The album's a loving tribute to Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of a major American city (Cleveland) – and it's one of the strongest in a series of African-American culture albums by the Flying Dutchman label at the time. Side one of the record features a press conference with Stokes, in which he outlines his ideas for revitalizing the Cleveland area. But even better is side two – which features a beautiful original composition by Nelson, entitled "A Black Suite For String Quartet & Jazz Orchestra", and which features recitations by Stokes of material by Langston Hughes and Gil Scott-Heron. The whole thing's great – extremely powerful and progressive, with tracks that include "Paint It Black", "I Too Sing America", "Mother To Son", "Sit Down", and "I Dream A World".

 Tracklist

A	The Mayor And The People Press Conference	26:20
BA	A Black Suite For String Quartet And Jazz Orchestra  (A) Take This Hammer	17:47
BB	(B) Precious Lord
BC	(C) Sit Down
BD	(D) Mother To Son
BE	(E) I Too Sing America
BF	(F) I Dream A World
BG	(G) Paint It Black

 

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