{"product_id":"ishmael-reed-the-hands-of-grace-1","title":"Ishmael Reed - The Hands Of Grace","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003eAll Night Flight, Reading Group - LP\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003eUK, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003eJazz \/ Piano \/ Home Recording\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003eI think I've been waiting a great deal of years for a record to strike again that one special chord I first heard as a kid when my godfather gave me a CD copy of \u003cstrong\u003eStan Getz\u003c\/strong\u003e's \u003cem\u003ePlays\u003c\/em\u003e album. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThat was my first encounter with jazz in all its obviousness, and the first time I would experience that blurred sense that the recording of these instruments conveyed pure, unadulterated human feelings—a sensation I would long for throughout my teen years, but would only\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003efind in far fewer jazz recordings than I expected.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e Of course, I got my share of musical shocks, when faced with \u003cstrong\u003eColtrane\u003c\/strong\u003e's \u003cem\u003eMy Favourite Things \u003c\/em\u003eor \u003cstrong\u003eMiles Davis\u003c\/strong\u003e'\u003cem\u003e ESP\u003c\/em\u003e but more and more often, the jazz recordings I would listen to felt \u003cem\u003etoo\u003c\/em\u003e sophisticated. I guess it's a common obsession amongst people who listen to a lot of music to try to row upstream to find - I don't know know exactly how to put it - t\u003cem\u003ehe source \u003c\/em\u003eor\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003ethe \u003cem\u003equintessence\u003c\/em\u003e of folk and popular music in general; an obsession that dragged me into the music of \u003cstrong\u003eElizabeth Cotten, Shirley Collins\u003c\/strong\u003e and other \u003cstrong\u003eFolkways\u003c\/strong\u003e recordings, as well as experiments in \"primitivism\" by \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Fahey\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTori Kudo\u003c\/strong\u003e or \u003cstrong\u003eKath Bloom\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u0026amp; Loren Mazzacane Connors\u003c\/strong\u003e...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003eAre we all ineluctably bound to turn into \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Crumb\u003c\/strong\u003e? That, I don't know, but what I \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"88\"\u003edo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e know is that American novelist Ishmael Reed's debut release as a musician (he was 84 when \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"3,0\" data-index-in-node=\"181\"\u003eThe Hands of Grace\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was released on CD in 2022) \u003c\/span\u003estruck\u003cspan\u003e that one chord so perfectly \u003c\/span\u003ethat\u003cspan\u003e I immediately let down my guard. \u003c\/span\u003eUpon first listen\u003cspan\u003e, I mentally put the album on the top shelf of my personal jazz pantheon, no matter how minor it might genuinely be \u003c\/span\u003ein regards to\u003cspan\u003e over a hundred years of American jazz history (which Ishmael Reed obviously knows so well).\u003c\/span\u003e Iknow that we've been fed a lot of releases lately that are supposed to feel 'authentic,' 'bare,' or 'simple' - and it might be the ultimate aesthetic trick the underground plays on us in the\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e2020s - but Ishmael Reed's easy piano playing and tiny, drumless jazz formations are something else: jazz in its intrinsically formless shape, softly shifting at the whim of his small amateur hesitations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome words from the label:\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Touching homebuilt compositions from celebrated American novelist, playwright and poet Ishmael Reed, channelling a long life immersed in jazz culture.  A joint in-house production from ANF and NYC-based label Reading Group. You’re never too old to learn something new.  Reed credits bebop with keeping him and his friends out of reform school because they were too busy listening to records at each other’s houses to get into trouble.  Finding fame as a distinguished writer, he found his way back to music circuitously, eventually taking the plunge at aged 60 to study jazz piano.  Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 he hastily assembled a quintet to fulfil a lifelong ambition of recording an album. He made the record but thankfully he didn’t succumb to his illness   Cash-strapped during COVID, he became a composer to save on money for his own plays, enlisting his daughter Tennessee as the narrator. These humble origins and a genuine love (and natural talent) for music are what underpins The Hands Of Grace.  Consisting of works written for Reed’s play ‘The Slave Who Loved Caviar’ alongside new original compositions, it brings in close friends and family to accompany his casual, unvarnished playing style that’s so genuinely heartfelt it feels as if you could be sat alongside them in their living room.  The music carries a lived-in simplicity yet it also holds something ambiguous that draws it away from the predictable. Music papers rustle, a living room chair is dragged up to the keys whilst Reed’s wife Carla contributes violin and daughter Tennessee recites her poetry on standout ‘How High The Moon’.  This is a poignant family affair with no-one left out, ending on a touching tribute and voicemail from their late daughter Timothy. Ever since it first appeared on CD The Hands Of Grace has become a staple. A record to return to, a uniquely personal tribute, a document of working method, a lifelong passion finally coming to fruition…\" \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003e(M\/M -\u003c\/em\u003e \u003ci\u003ewholesale: shops, contact us\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KtidaOVBVqw?si=XOUD8xMwy1eNPUGl\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TPELFQVpa90?si=iThBC469dWULxqlC\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/prd7-XLbnKc?si=RVrMp-oWDunl0Jty\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"default-style\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Office PSR","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58558662639961,"sku":null,"price":27.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0825\/8850\/0313\/files\/IMG_0909_bde08d48-f5f1-4509-9725-3d82fab23df0.jpg?v=1782577741","url":"https:\/\/www.officepsr.com\/products\/ishmael-reed-the-hands-of-grace-1","provider":"Office PSR","version":"1.0","type":"link"}