Mirage (Remastered): Blue With Black Swirl Vinyl LP

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: Real Gone Music
Release Date: 6th February

Mad that The Awakening were the only group to be put out on the legendary Black Jazz label 'Hear, Sense and Feel' hits a sweet spot where some members of the band were seasoned avant-garde players ala Art Ensemble of Chicago and others go-to soul and funk session players. The result is a band whose albums lent to both Afrocentric  avant garde rhythms and a soulful jazz funk fusion. 

The only “group” on the Black Jazz roster, The Awakening today should be heralded as one of the great bands in early ‘70s jazz. That they’re not is the result of the Black Jazz label’s distribution woes; witness the fact that original copies of both of their records for the imprint command prices in the hundreds of dollars if you can find them at all. Mirage is their second (1973) album, the last one they made together; it boasts the same Chicago-based, AACM-centric line-up as the first, with the notable addition of bassist Rufus Reid on a couple of tracks. Spiritual jazz, free jazz, soul jazz, fusion jazz, you name it—The Awakening take all those threads common to early ‘70s African-American music and, like any great ensemble, weave them into a beautiful sonic garment that’s greater than the sum of its parts. The Mirage is a bit less political/pan-African than Hear, Sense and Feel, its predecessor, which definitely owed some of its feel to the band’s Art Ensemble of Chicago/AACM roots; this record is a little more abstract, a little more varied in its moods and textural coloring, yet no less powerful and transporting. This limited (to 500 copies) blue with black swirl vinyl edition comes with liner notes by Pat Thomas. A record to discover, savor, and treasure.

Track Listing:
The Awakening-Prologue-Spring Thing
When Will It Ever End
Convulsions
Kera’s Dance
Jupiter
Brand New Feeling
Awakening-Epilogue