Let My People Go! A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom

Kim & Reggie Harris

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: February 8, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Appleseed Records
• ASIN: B00074CC28
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,647 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

New Song Library, January 2005
"Wow!! WOW!!!!! How absolutely perfectly right!"

Product Description
This uplifting collaboration between veteran African American folksingers Kim and Reggie Harris and their friend Rabbi Jonathan Kligler presents an analogy in song and spoken word between the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt in the 13th Century B.C., as retold at the annual Passover Seder meal, and the African American struggle toward equality in America as exemplified by the mid-Sixties Civil Rights Movement.

The CD’s rich tapestry of music and history is seamlessly woven from songs in Hebrew from the Passover Haggadah, which chronicles the Jews’ Egyptian exodus, with traditional Black Spirituals carrying the ideals of equality and freedom, and songs from the Civil Rights era by Phil Ochs ("What’s That I Hear") and Freedom Singers Marshall and Matt Jones (including "In the Mississippi River," about the three Civil Rights workers slain in 1964). There is also a moving poem, "I Have a Million Nightingales," written by a Palestinian poet and set to music by a Jewish cantor, and a new composition by the Harrises – "Freedom Road" – summarizing the unquenchable desire for and journey toward equality and self-determination.

Interspersed are spoken firsthand accounts of watershed events in the modern Civil Rights Movement: musical and humanitarian icon Pete Seeger recounts the evolution of "We Shall Overcome" from a Spiritual to a union rallying cry to a Civil Rights anthem; African American activist Juanita Nelson describes her desegregation battles in Washington and Cincinnati; Rabbi Arthur Waskow tells of his encounters with Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1964 Democratic National Convention; radio program host Sonny Ochs recalls her late brother Phil’s commitment to justice and equality in his songs.

Augmenting Kim and Reggie’s exuberant lead vocals and harmonies, Rabbi Kligler’s baritone voice, and Reggie’s exemplary acoustic guitarwork are keyboardist David Sancious (formerly of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band), bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and lead guitarist John Platania (Van Morrison, Don McLean), among others. Clarinetist Peter Davis adds a high-spirited Klezmer sound to several tracks.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Work, May 6, 2007

By	K. Rosenstein (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let My People Go! A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom, is an intercultural gem of a an experience. Musically rich and educationally revealing, it blends two traditions while retaining the character of each. I highly recommend this recording.

The rhythms are deeply moving and the melodies beautifully blended. The content brings together two traditions, reflecting the struggles of two peoples while honoring the experiences of both.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We adore this recording, November 10, 2006

By	Jeffry H. Steele - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Featuring the inspired singing of Reggie Harris and his soulful guests, with spoken interludes by a variety of civil rights activists [including some I've known], this CD can reawaken latent activism or bring solace to the world-weary. The closing track "I won't turn back" does a particularly good job at the latter.