A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)

A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)
Studio album by Terence Blanchard
Released	August 14, 2007 (2007-08-14)
Studio	Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California; Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington
Genre	Jazz
Length	69:13
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard chronology
Flow (2005) A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (2007) Choices (2009)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
PopMatters	[2]
Sputnikmusic	3.8/5[3]
All About Jazz	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[5]

A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) is an album recorded in 2007 by the Terence Blanchard Quintet.

In 2008, Blanchard won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, and was nominated for Best Jazz Instrument Solo for his work on the song "Levees".^[6]

Background

Film director Spike Lee commissioned New Orleans native Terence Blanchard to compose the score for his 2006 four-hour HBO documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts", to show the agony of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In 2007 Blanchard recorded "A Tale of God's Will", which contains parts ("The Water", "Levees", "Wading Through", and "Funeral Dirge") of the recording that were heard in Lee's documentary. Blanchard's mother, Wilhelmina, lost her Pontchartrain Park home in the tragedy but survived.^[7] The recording closes with "Dear Mom", Blanchard's heartfelt tribute to her.

Blanchard was accompanied by his quintet and the Northwest Sinfonia, a 40-member string orchestra (which he conducted and co-orchestrated). All the songs were written by four members of Blanchard's Quintet and serve to offer their own perspective of the tragedy. The opening track, "Ghosts of Congo Square", is a vibrant Afro-Cuban-style rhythm track that represents a place where those who resisted slavery were publicly hanged. Later, after the days of slavery had ended, Congo Square became a place where local people would gather and share the percussion music that their ancestors brought with them from Africa. The second track, "Levees", opens with melancholy strings, provided by the Northwest Sinfonia orchestra, and as Blanchard's trumpet eases into the mix, one can imagine old and tired levees straining to hold back the water that never ceases to push against them. For the tracks "Ghost of Betsy" and "The Water", Blanchard drew on his own experiences as a little boy when Hurricane Betsy flooded his Lower 9th Ward neighborhood in 1965. He intended "Funeral Dirge" as a dignified repast for a montage of dead bodies. Pianist Aaron Parks contributed "Ashe" as a benediction. Drummer Kendrick Scott describes his "Mantra" as a "mantra for healing and renewal." Bassist Derrick Hodge's lush "Over There", written before Katrina, nonetheless fit the CD's theme. Saxophonist Brice Winston wrote "In Time of Need" after moving with his family from New Orleans to Tucson, Arizona.^[8]

Reception

Will Layman of PopMatters awarded the album nine points out of 10, stating "Taken as a whole, two elements of this recording stand out. First, Blanchard and his group play selflessly, without reaching for flashy effects or long solos. Everything about this record is about bringing the compositions to full fruition, and the improvisation always sounds integrated with the full purpose of the music. Second, every element of the record is incorporated into its theme. Even the tracks that are somewhat disparate (a swinging duet between bass and trumpet on "Ghost of Betsy" and a fragmentary tenor solo on "Ghost of 1927", particularly) play as interludes that breathe life into the project between larger movements."^[2]

A reviewer of Reuters noted "What started as a gig scoring Spike Lee’s HBO documentary “When the Levees Broke” has been imaginatively expanded by trumpeter Terence Blanchard into this epic-length, orchestral-string masterwork. As the two-year anniversary of the New Orleans deluge approaches, the Crescent City native delivers his compelling and poignant reflections on the catastrophe, with the support of his quintet and the 40-piece Northwest Sinfonia. In the tunes, there is anger and angst, lush melody and woeful wails, pockets of grace and flood waters of melancholy. Four “Levees” numbers are in the mix, with revitalized arrangements, including the prodding, ominous “The Water” and the painfully anguished “Funeral Dirge.” Of particular note are three impromptu short “ghost” pieces, as well as originals by Blanchard’s band members, highlighted by pianist Aaron Park’s lyrical gem “Ashe” and saxophonist Brice Winston’s heart-rending “In Time of Need.”^[9]

Track listing

All tracks written by Terence Blanchard except where noted.

Personnel

Band

• Terence Blanchard – conductor, trumpet, orchestration, producer, liner notes,
• Brice Winston – soprano sax, tenor sax, liner notes
• Derrick Hodge – double bass, bass guitar, liner notes
• Aaron Parks – piano, orchestration, liner notes,
• Kendrick Scott – drums, percussion, orchestration
• Zac Harmon – tabla

Production

• Howard Drossin – orchestration
• Robin Burgess – associate producer
• Brian Valentino – engineer
• Frank Wolf – engineer
• Seth Waldman – assistant engineer
• Gavin Lurssen – mastering
• Lolis Eric Elie – liner notes^[10]

Charts

References

External links

• All About Jazz: "A Tale of God's Will"