Glorious Mahalia

Midway through Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King’s close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century – Glorious Mahalia, a visionary tribute to Jackson’s life by the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, uses that moment as a springboard to explore the depth of Jackson’s musical craft and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement, including her relationship with Clarence Jones and Studs Terkel, other luminaries of the time. Featuring compositions by Stacy Garrop and Zachary James Watkins, a new arrangement of Jackson’s astonishing version of the Antonio Haskell composition “God Shall Wipe All Tears Away,” and archival audio of Jackson’s voice, the album illuminates Jackson’s historic artistry and advocacy. ‘Perhaps the most dazzling evidence of Garrop’s virtuosity comes at the end of the piece, when a few simple chords transform the interview sign-off into an unexpectedly bittersweet life passage. You’ve heard radio interviewers close out a show countless times; you’ve never heard that moment carry such a burden of tenderness and grace.” – San Francisco Chronicle on Glorious Mahalia ‘Watkins’s accompanying music, and the Kronos Quartet’s performance of it, gave voice to the wonder of witnessing that kind of genius, that in an explosion of vision and creativity contributed more than a few teaspoons to making the change that we hope is still to come.” – New Haven Independent