Roots: The Saga of an American Family

by Quincy Jones

Overview

Quincy Jones has been threatening to write a long tone poem sketching the history of black music for decades now, and he has yet to do it. This project, rushed out in the wake of the 1977 TV mini-series Roots, is about as close as he has come. A brief (28 minutes) immaculately-produced and segued suite, Roots quickly traces a timeline from Africa to the Civil War, incorporating ancient and modern African influences (with Letta Mbulu as the featured vocalist), a sea shanty, field hollers, and fiddle tunes, snippets of dialogue from Roots actor Lou Gossett, and some Hollywood-style movie cues. Only a fraction of this music was used in the mini-series; oddly, the most familiar piece of music, the often-repeated "Roots Mural Theme," is not by Jones, but by film composer Gerald Fried, who wrote most of the TV score. Though some prominent jazzers (Shelly Manne, Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, Lee Ritenour, Richard Tee, etc.) turn up in the orchestra, there is not a trace of jazz to be heard. This is a timely souvenir of a cultural phenomenon, but merely a curiosity for jazz fans. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	11/04/2016
Label:	Var?Se Sarabande
UPC:	0030206742510
Rank:	146788

Tracks

1. Motherland
2. Roots Mural Theme
3. Main Title: Mama Aifambeni [Premier Episode]
4. Behold the Only Thing Greater Than Yourself (Birth)
5. Oluwa (Many Rains Ago)
6. Boyhood to Manhood
7. The Toubob Is Here! (The Capture)
8. Middle Passage (Slaveship Crossing)
9. You in Americuh Now, African
10. Roots Mural Theme Intro (Slave Auction)
11. Ole Fiddler
12. Jumpin' de Broom (Marriage Ceremony)
13. What Can I Do? (Hush, Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name)
14. Roots Mural Theme Bridge (Plantation Life)
15. Oh Lord, Come by Here
16. Free at Last? (The Civil War)
17. Many Rains Ago (Oluwa) [African Theme/English Version]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Quincy Jones   Primary Artist
Bobby Bruce   Primary Artist
Letta Mbulu   Primary Artist
Alex Hassilev   Primary Artist
James Cleveland   Primary Artist
Bill Summers   Primary Artist
Caiphus Semenya   Primary Artist
Wattsline Choir   Primary Artist
Lou Gossett   Primary Artist,Vocals
Zak Diouf   Primary Artist
Stan Haze   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Bobby Bruce   Composer
Quincy Jones   Composer
James Cleveland   Composer
Bill Summers   Composer
Caiphus Semenya   Composer
Gerald Fried   Composer
Louis Gossett, Jr.   Composer
Lou Gossett   Composer,Dialogue
Zak Diouf   Composer