Haitian-American GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Godwin Louis explores the universality and pleasure of sacred music in his sophomore launch, “Psalms and Proverbs.”
The primary single, “Showers of Blessings/Kplolanyuiade,” has dropped and is now out there at: https://orcd.co/godwinlouis_showersofblessings. The total album was launched internationally by Blue Room Music on Aug. 23.
Louis, who was born in Harlem to Haitian immigrants, attracts on spiritual musical traditions world wide, together with his Haitian roots. Haiti is the place European, African and native traditions converged to create the roots of jazz.
The disc contains gospel and liturgical music from West African Ewe and Beninois sources, in addition to Sixteenth-century French composer Claude Goudimel (for an attractive sax-trumpet duet); the Scottish-Anglican hymn “Abide with Me”; and compositions he wrote in collaboration with a number of ministers, together with his late father, the Rev. Marcel Louis — Psalms 23 Half II (I Shall Concern No Evil)” and “Psalms 23 Half III (Absolutely Goodness and Mercy).”
Born right into a musical household, Louis was raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Maturing on the scene in New Orleans, Boston, New York and past, Louis is a composer-arranger-virtuoso soloist who bought his begin on saxophone at age 9.
A Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Saxophone competitors finalist, a 2024 Grammy nominee (for preparations on singer Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Mélusine,), and a Berklee School of Music woodwinds professor, he’s a person of devoutly lyrical creativeness, as richly demonstrated in “Psalms and Proverbs.”
With a sax sound as strong, centered and fluid because the most interesting of his reeds (suppose Cannonball Adderley, Paquito D’Rivera and Donald Harrison), Louis leads a rare ensemble via a program diversified by its themes and codecs, together with spoken phrase, chants and choral passages; deft instrumental interaction and stirring African American and Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
He takes full benefit of post-bop jazz freedoms, additionally embracing gospel music tropes, son montuno model, bolero and calypso thrives (as an illustration on the monitor “Collective Bovarysm”).
As he proved in 2019 together with his audacious two-CD debut album World, Louis has a humanist and internationalist perspective, knowledgeable by the African Diaspora and expressed in his embrace of jazz in its totality — broadly outlined — and his service to it as a global ambassador.
He’s toured Africa (and is the namesake of a rooftop jazz membership in Togo), Europe and China, and in addition returned to nourish his roots in his Caribbean homeland as founding father of the Expertise Ayiti, a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts group providing musical training to and growing management expertise amongst Haitian youth.
Core members of Louis’s World band return for “Psalms and Proverbs,” together with brass man Billy Buss, pianist Axel Tosca, organist Johnny Mercier, drummer Obed Calvaire, percussionist Markus Schwartz, bassist Hogyu Hwang and vocalist Melissa Stylianou.
Trinidadian-born trumpet star Etienne Charles companions with Louis within the frontline on the opening “Showers of Blessings/Kplolanyuiade” and “Pelo Malo.”
“Psalms and Proverbs” can also be a showcase for vocal-focused tracks that includes the abilities of acclaimed world stars.
Louis has enlisted each Xiomara Laugart, often known as the “Voice of Cuba,” and two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated artist Lea Lórien.
Each seem on “Pelo Malo (Dangerous Hair),” an uncompromising, at first troubled however finally affirming decision of the complicated dialog about hair texture that has plagued generations of Afro-Latino and different Black communities.
Louis introduces Lècokpon, a shiny Benin artist, and on a number of tracks Stylianou, a singer-songwriter with 5 albums as a frontrunner and member of the vocal trio Duchess, harmonizes with Haitian-American songstress Pauline Jean (who steps out dramatically on “Psalms 6”).
“Whether or not in Africa or the Americas, the hymn and the enjoying of music are central to worship and reward in any variety of spiritual traditions,” Louis mentioned.
“This album explores that nexus and carries on the custom of sacred music and its affect on jazz — the music steeped within the sounds of West Africa, the Caribbean, the USA and Europe — in what I hope are new and thrilling methods for audiences,” he added.
“Psalms and Proverbs” is produced by Louis, Calvaire and Chan Jung.
“Psalms and Proverbs” might be ordered at https://orcd.co/godwinlouis and at Spotify, iTunes, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon and extra.
For extra info on Louis, go to https://www.godwinlouis.com.
