21st Century Union March

21st Century Union March
Studio album by
Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
Released1997
RecordedJune 17, 18 & 21, 1995
StudioStreeterville Studios, Chicago
GenreJazz
Length72:44
LabelSilkheart
ProducerKahil El'Zabar
Kahil El'Zabar chronology
Big Cliff
(1995) 		21st Century Union March
(1997) 		The Continuum
(1997)

21st Century Union March is an album by Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, a jazz band formed by percussionist Kahil El'Zabar, who is joined by saxophonist Edward Wilkerson and trombonist Joseph Bowie. It was recorded in 1995 and released on the Swedish Silkheart label.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[3]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek describes the album as:

an infectious, utterly intoxicating brew of African folk songs (complete with ritual instruments), rhythm marches, R&B honking, bop caesuras, and blues stomping that is inseparable from tradition yet extends its relevancy into a new era.

— Jurek, Thom. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – 21st Century Union March: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2016.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz states:

The team has an almost chamberish feel on 21st Century Union March. Bowie takes a prominent soloist's role, Wilkerson seems reserved, and the music has a gentle way of unfolding, even when El'Zabar works up some thunder at his various drums.

— Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 508. ISBN 0141023279.

In a review for JazzTimes Willard Jenkins says:

This is music not of an overly intellectual bent, it is instead so simultaneously earthy and ethereal as to conjure rich colorations and dreamscapes.

— Jenkins, Willard. "21st Century Union March review". JazzTimes.

Track listing

All compositions by Kahil El'Zabar except as indicated
  1. "Crumb Puck You Let Slide" – 6:48
  2. "Fanfare" – 8:58
  3. "Lover Man" (Jimmy Davis, Roger 'Ram' Ramirez, James Sherman) – 3:23
  4. "How the Cow See Cirrus" – 11:43
  5. "Missing Miles" (Joseph Bowie) – 5:03
  6. "Burundi" – 10:05
  7. "Love Outside of Dreams" – 6:27
  8. "Dear Albert" – 9:01
  9. "Procession" – 3:14

Personnel

References

  1. ^ 21st Century Union March at Silkheart
  2. ^ Jurek, Thom. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – 21st Century Union March: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 508. ISBN 0141023279.

Sources