Let Freedom Swing album release
On Let Freedom Swing, the latest release from Blue Engine Records, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis celebrates the charismatic leaders who gave voice to the struggle for freedom. Originally recorded live during a 2004 concert, the album features six stunning, sprawling musical commissions that paint a backdrop for inspirational oratory on liberty by Václav Havel, Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Desmond Tutu.
Delivering these leaders’ inspirational words are modern icons including Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Close, Keith David, Morgan Freeman, Mario Van Peebles, and Alfre Woodard. The original commissions themselves were composed by a masterful array of jazz composers: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Darin Atwater, Darius Brubeck, Billy Childs, Jimmy Heath, Zim Ngqawana, and Emil Viklicky.
Let Freedom Swing is a stirring statement of purpose on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s ongoing JazzCall for Freedom campaign, which also includes the JLCO’s recently released record We the People. Both albums encourage listeners to stand up for unity and civil liberties during this crucial moment in our nation’s history. So, answer the call and immerse yourself in Let Freedom Swing, a record that will restore your faith in democracy and remind you of jazz’s power to reanimate our nobler sentiments.