Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber: We Insist Max Roach s Freedom Now Suite

Described by Rolling Stone as a fleetfooted big band, sliding and swaggering through galactic R B, brawny jazz, and electric funk like a Sun Rasized spin on Miles Daviss On the Corner band, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber began as a forum for New York City s improvisational musicians to compose, record, and perform an eclectic range of music. Led by Greg Tate, these masters of experimental souljazzhiphop have ranged from eight to twenty seven players at a time. For BSAC s Hammer debut, Tate brings an eightpiece crew, with performance backgrounds, consisting of Shelley Nicole (Erykah Badu, Toshi Reagon), Mikel Banks (Vernon Reid), Lewis Flip Barnes (William Parker, The Holmes Brothers), V. Jeffrey Smith (Billy Ocean, Debbie Gibson), Ben Tyree (Valerie June, Dr. Cornel West), Leon Gruenbaum (James Blood Ulmer, Nana Vasconcelos), Greg Gonzalez (Patti LaBelle, Cecil Taylor), and Jared Michael Nickerson (The The, Wadada Leo Smith) to caramelize Abbey Li