B'chol Dor Va'dor (In Every Generation)/I'm On My Way - Kim & Reggie Harris, Traditional
Ha Lachma Anya (This Is the Bread of Oppression) - Kim & Reggie Harris, Traditional
Avodim Hayinu (Slaves Were We) - Kim & Reggie Harris, Gelbart, Michel
In the Mississippi River - Kim & Reggie Harris, Jones, Marshall
Remembering Phil Ochs - Kim & Reggie Harris, Ochs, Sonny
What's That I Hear - Kim & Reggie Harris, Ochs, Phil
The New Colossus/Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor/Motherless Child - Kim & Reggie Harris, Berlin, Irving
Democratic National Convention 1964 - Kim & Reggie Harris, Waskow, Arthur
Mah Lecha Ha'yam (Sea, Why Do You Flee?) - Kim & Reggie Harris, Traditional
Man Come into Egypt - Kim & Reggie Harris, Hellerman, Fred
Ilu Finu (Were Our Mouths Oceans of Song) - Kim & Reggie Harris, Traditional
Let My People Go: Story of an Activist's Life - Kim & Reggie Harris, Nelson, Juanita
Freedom Road - Kim & Reggie Harris, Harris, Kim
I Have a Million Nightingales - Kim & Reggie Harris, Darwish, Mahmoud
Venomar Lefanav (Let Us Sing a New Song) - Kim & Reggie Harris, Traditional
We Shall Overcome: Evolution of a Song - Kim & Reggie Harris, Seeger, Pete
Ani Ma'amin (I Believe)/We Shall Overcome - Kim & Reggie Harris, Carawan, Guy
I Won't Turn Back - Kim & Reggie Harris, Jones, Matt
This uplifting collaboration between veteran African American folksingers Kim and Reggie Harris and their friend Rabbi Jonathan Kligler presents an analogy in song and spoken word between the Jewish exodus from slavery in ... more »Egypt in the 13th Century B.C., as retold at the annual Passover Seder meal, and the African American struggle toward equality in America as exemplified by the mid-Sixties Civil Rights Movement. The CD?s rich tapestry of music and history is seamlessly woven from songs in Hebrew from the Passover Haggadah, which chronicles the Jews? Egyptian exodus, with traditional Black Spirituals carrying the ideals of equality and freedom, and songs from the Civil Rights era by Phil Ochs ("What?s That I Hear") and Freedom Singers Marshall and Matt Jones (including "In the Mississippi River," about the three Civil Rights workers slain in 1964). There is also a moving poem, "I Have a Million Nightingales," written by a Palestinian poet and set to music by a Jewish cantor, and a new composition by the Harrises ? "Freedom Road" ? summarizing the unquenchable desire for and journey toward equality and self-determination. Interspersed are spoken firsthand accounts of watershed events in the modern Civil Rights Movement: musical and humanitarian icon Pete Seeger recounts the evolution of "We Shall Overcome" from a Spiritual to a union rallying cry to a Civil Rights anthem; African American activist Juanita Nelson describes her desegregation battles in Washington and Cincinnati; Rabbi Arthur Waskow tells of his encounters with Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1964 Democratic National Convention; radio program host Sonny Ochs recalls her late brother Phil?s commitment to justice and equality in his songs. Augmenting Kim and Reggie?s exuberant lead vocals and harmonies, Rabbi Kligler?s baritone voice, and Reggie?s exemplary acoustic guitarwork are keyboardist David Sancious (formerly of Bruce Springsteen?s E Street Band), bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and lead guitarist John Platania (Van Morrison, Don McLean), among others. Clarinetist Peter Davis adds a high-spirited Klezmer sound to several tracks.« less
This uplifting collaboration between veteran African American folksingers Kim and Reggie Harris and their friend Rabbi Jonathan Kligler presents an analogy in song and spoken word between the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt in the 13th Century B.C., as retold at the annual Passover Seder meal, and the African American struggle toward equality in America as exemplified by the mid-Sixties Civil Rights Movement. The CD?s rich tapestry of music and history is seamlessly woven from songs in Hebrew from the Passover Haggadah, which chronicles the Jews? Egyptian exodus, with traditional Black Spirituals carrying the ideals of equality and freedom, and songs from the Civil Rights era by Phil Ochs ("What?s That I Hear") and Freedom Singers Marshall and Matt Jones (including "In the Mississippi River," about the three Civil Rights workers slain in 1964). There is also a moving poem, "I Have a Million Nightingales," written by a Palestinian poet and set to music by a Jewish cantor, and a new composition by the Harrises ? "Freedom Road" ? summarizing the unquenchable desire for and journey toward equality and self-determination. Interspersed are spoken firsthand accounts of watershed events in the modern Civil Rights Movement: musical and humanitarian icon Pete Seeger recounts the evolution of "We Shall Overcome" from a Spiritual to a union rallying cry to a Civil Rights anthem; African American activist Juanita Nelson describes her desegregation battles in Washington and Cincinnati; Rabbi Arthur Waskow tells of his encounters with Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1964 Democratic National Convention; radio program host Sonny Ochs recalls her late brother Phil?s commitment to justice and equality in his songs. Augmenting Kim and Reggie?s exuberant lead vocals and harmonies, Rabbi Kligler?s baritone voice, and Reggie?s exemplary acoustic guitarwork are keyboardist David Sancious (formerly of Bruce Springsteen?s E Street Band), bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and lead guitarist John Platania (Van Morrison, Don McLean), among others. Clarinetist Peter Davis adds a high-spirited Klezmer sound to several tracks.
"Let My People Go! A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom, is an intercultural gem of a an experience. Musically rich and educationally revealing, it blends two traditions while retaining the character of each. I highly recommend this recording.
The rhythms are deeply moving and the melodies beautifully blended. The content brings together two traditions, reflecting the struggles of two peoples while honoring the experiences of both.
"
We adore this recording
Jeffry H. Steele | 11/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Featuring the inspired singing of Reggie Harris and his soulful guests, with spoken interludes by a variety of civil rights activists [including some I've known], this CD can reawaken latent activism or bring solace to the world-weary. The closing track "I won't turn back" does a particularly good job at the latter."