The Essential Mahalia Jackson [Columbia/Legacy]

by Mahalia Jackson

Overview

Mahalia Jackson rewrote the rules for singing gospel in the late '40s by bringing blues phrasing and other secular elements into sacred song, and with her powerful alto, she sang with an immediacy and conviction that are still startling when they break out of the speakers some 30 years after her death. This two-disc set collects tracks from Jackson's long stay at Columbia Records, as well as a few tracks from her previous label, Apollo Records, where she recorded from 1947 until signing with Columbia in 1954. What makes this set feel like more than a greatest-hits collection is the inspired sequencing, which doesn't move chronologically but instead is paced like a concert, helped by the placement of key live tracks, including several from her historic appearance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Highlights are almost too many to mention, but her elegant version of "Come Sunday" with Duke Ellington & His Orchestra is majestic in scope, and her interpretations of a pair of Thomas A. Dorsey compositions, "It Didn't Cost Very Much" and "I'm Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song" are definitive. The funky "Let the Church Roll On," featuring some wonderful stop-start stuttering piano work from Mildred Falls, rocks the house, as does the rousing, jazzy version of "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" that is included here. A beautiful and heartbreaking reading of "I've Been Buked" from Columbia's tape archives is another obvious high point. No one could worry over a note like Mahalia Jackson. The Essential Mahalia Jackson makes a marvelous introduction to the Colombia Records era of this powerful and soulful singer, and coupled with the earlier three-disc Apollo Sessions, paints a complete picture of an American treasure. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/02/2004
Label:	Columbia/Legacy
UPC:	0696998906723
Rank:	61148

Tracks

Disc 1

1. How I Got Over
2. Trouble of the World
3. He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
4. Walk in Jerusalem
5. Were You There?
6. Walk On By Faith
7. His Eye Is on the Sparrow
8. I Found the Answer
9. Take My Hand, Precious Lord
10. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
11. The Lord's Prayer
12. Walk Over God's Heaven
13. My God Is Real
14. Just a Little While to Stay Here
15. There Is a Balm in Gilead
16. When the Saints Go Marching In
17. Let the Church Roll On
18. You'll Never Walk Alone

Disc 2

19. In the Upper Room
20. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
21. Calvary
22. Didn't It Rain
23. If I Can Help Somebody
24. I'm on My Way
25. I Can Put My Trust in Jesus
26. It Don't Cost Very Much
27. Come Sunday
28. Down by the Riverside
29. Dig a Little Deeper
30. Come On Children, Let's Sing
31. I've Been Buked
32. I Will Move on Up a Little Higher, Pt. 1
33. I Will Move on Up a Little Higher, Pt. 2
34. Great Gettin' up Morning
35. I'm Goin' to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song
36. The Treasure of Love
37. Elijah Rock

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mahalia Jackson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington   Piano
Jimmy Woode   Bass
Clark Terry   Trumpet
Jo Jones   Drums
Russell Procope   Reeds,Clarinet,Sax (Alto)
Walter Page   Bass
Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet
Ray Nance   Violin,Trumpet
Mildred Falls   Piano
Aaron Bell   Bass
Charles Clency   Organ
Keith Mitchell   Bass
Gordon "Specs" Powell   Drums
Falls-Jones Ensemble   Ensemble
Alfred Miller   Organ
A. Goodson   Organ
Jimmy Raney   Guitar
Bill Graham   Sax (Alto)
Shelly Manne   Drums
Billy Preston   Organ
Addison Farmer   Bass
Tommy Bryant   Bass
Harold Baker   Trumpet
Herb Ellis   Guitar
Frank Carroll   Bass
Norris "Bunny" Shawker   Drums
Marty Paich   Conductor
Gus Johnson   Drums
Harry Carney   Sax (Baritone)
Art Ryerson   Guitar
Lilton Mitchell   Organ
Willie Webb   Organ
Ralph Jones Band   Organ
Clifton Best   Guitar

Technical Credits

John Hammond, Sr.   Producer
Irving Townsend   Producer
Duke Ellington   Composer
George Avakian   Producer
Kenneth S. Morris   Composer
Roberta Martin   Composer
Nedra Olds-Neal   Compilation Producer
Mark Wilder   Mastering
Jester Hairston   Composer
Mildred Falls   Leader
A.P. Carter   Composer
Horace Clarence Boyer   Liner Notes
Leigh Wiener   Photography
C.J. Ward   Composer
Harriet E. Smith   Composer
Hank Parker   Cover Photo
Don Hunstein   Photography
Liz Reilly   Photo Research
Traditional   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Cal Lampley   Producer
Albert Hay Malotte   Composer
Bob Fisher   Reissue Producer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Mahalia Jackson   Arranger,Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey   Composer
Civilla D. Martin   Composer
John Lange   Composer
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
Aaron Love   Adaptation
Frank Bez   Photography
Sandy Speiser   Photography