The legendary singer Mahalia Jackson, one of the iconic figures of the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was very involved in the civil rights movement in the United States. The San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet, which reinvented the string quartet form, was formed in 1973, a year after the diva’s death. Violinists David Harrington and Gabriela Diaz, violist Ayane Kozasa, and cellist Paul Wiancko celebrate the work and commitments of this essential artist with the album Glorious Mahalia.
During Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the March on Washington in 1963, Mahalia Jackson urged her friend, Martin, to “Tell them about the dream!” The Kronos Quartet draws inspiration from this historic moment to explore the depth of the singer’s musical art, her impact on the civil rights movement, and her relationship with Clarence Jones and Studs Terkel, other major figures of the time. Composed by Zachary James Watkins, Peace Be Till: IV. Symphony of Social Justice features an interview with Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a lawyer and speechwriter. The latter discusses the struggle for freedom and justice in the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
The Kronos Quartet has collaborated with Terry Riley, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Tanya Tagaq, Philip Glass, inti figgis-vizueta, Fodé Lassana Diabaté, and Steve Reich. The group has a long-standing relationship with the Smithsonian Folkways label. Their exploration covers a wide range of music, from the complex compositions of Morton Feldman to string arrangements of works by Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk.
The album Glorious Mahalia highlights the historical art and advocacy of the singer. It immerses us in her experiences with interviews conducted by her friend, journalist, and historian Studs Terkel. The album also includes a new arrangement of Mahalia Jackson’s version of Antonio Haskell’s composition “God Shall Wipe All Tears Away,” with the Kronos Quartet treating the original audio recording of the song as a score for their adaptation.
The album also features compositions by Stacy Garrop and Zachary James Watkins, an excerpt from a 1957 gospel and spirituals concert in Chicago, other new and archival recordings on new compositions, and a reinterpretation of the famous track “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” covered multiple times by Odetta, Richie Havens, Jimmy Scott, Charlie Haden, and Hank Jones.
