The Leimert Park album is from the 2005 recording session and summit featured in the film. In honor of the 15th anniversary a new, high quality, digital release of the album is available.
(More session info in CD notes below)
By Horace Tapscott. From the 2005 session featuring Azar Lawrence on saxophone. "Horace told me the song refers to all the fallen warriors, of all time. Warriors in righteousness, not just in fighting" -Jesse Sharps
By Abdu Salim. Recorded live at The Jazz Bakery in November 2008 following the historic election of Barack Obama. It features Dwight Trible on voice and Jai Jae Kabasa opening with a role call of great African and Black leaders.
Limited Edition CD + Bonus Track Free shipping (In the U.S.)
Recorded during the historic summit and recording session shown in the film, and Independently released in 2008, this historic CD includes 11 pages of liner notes written by jazz writer and salon host Mimi Melnick covering the history of the musicians, the Leimert Park music scene, and the influence of Horace Tapscott's Pan Afrikan Peoples Akestra on this region of Los Angeles. It is truly a historical document! Buy the CD and you will also get a free download of Warriors All and Justice! (Only 300 CDs left)
The album opens with Jesse Sharps' "Peyote Song III" and is followed by Kamau Daáood's spoken word piece "Language of Saxophones" where Kamau led a select group to improvise live with him. Jesse Sharps' epic, “Desert Fairy Princess” is up next featuring Dwight Trible singing lyrics he wrote specially for the recording session. Roberto Miranda follows this as an improvising conductor leading the group through collective improvisation on “Agony in the Garden" and the album closes with a Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra standard, “Lately’s Solo.”
The line up for this album is truly stellar and historic. Ndugu Chancler, Kamau Daáood, Richard Grant, Azar Lawrence, Roberto Miranda, Phil Ranelin, Michael Session, and Taumbu Ector joined members of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra along with rising stars Kamasi Washington, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Pete Jacobson, Brandon Coleman, Joey Dosik, Randal Fisher, Nick Rosen, and many more.
All of the songs were recorded live and engineered by Blanton (Kyle) Ross. The name of the album “Leimert Park: Roots & Branches of Los Angeles Jazz” was inspired by Jesse’s time connecting with many of the musicians from the event while in Leimert Park. "Warriors All" by Horace Tapscott was recorded as well and released digitally in 2010. A free CD quality download of the song will be included with the CD purchase as a bonus track.