Heroes Are Gang Leaders - The Amiri Baraka Sessions (2019)

Originally recorded in 2014 and 2015 as a two-CD set tribute to the legendary poet / activist Amiri Baraka, this collection of “12 Jazz / Poetry Hi Fi Dig Its” explores the range of vernacular styles that Amiri Baraka utilized during his journey from Beat to Black Nationalist to Black Marxist to Post Black Arts Surrealist. These recordings are both celebratory and critical as HAGL is unafraid to embody the nuanced complexities of Baraka’s controversial legacy as well as transform that work into new forms that challenge the easy and outdated structures of much of today’s Written and Spoken Word, resulting in a vibrant exploration that forges a new understanding that is useful to the next generation of Feelnicians.

Winners of the 2018 America Book Award for Oral Literature

The fertile, imaginative, sensuous unity of poetry and music embodied by Heroes Are Gang Leaders harvest’s the great traditions of Afro-American culture. From the bountiful gardens of past masters to the most innovative and exciting contemporary writers, HAGL has opened new horizons for audiences internationally, gathering the forces of rhythm and sound. Drawing from the resources of often hidden and suppressed histories, HAGL resuscitates and revives images of our world that are colorful, vibrant, and spiritual. Fearless, adventurous, and without compromise, HAGL has evolved new trajectories for artists of the future to explore. If as James Blood Ulmer has said, “Jazz is the teacher, and funk is the preacher,” then HAGL is the divinity school offering a new theology of spirit into matter. The cross-pollination of poetry and music find their magical, ritual significance in the art of HAGL, a boundless, joyful rediscovery of our souls. Weaving a vision at once unique and uncannily familiar, HAGL has found purpose in animating both the shadows and the light of our 21st century. Collected on the albums "The Avant-Age Garde I AMs of the Gal Luxury," "Highest Engines Near/Near Higher Engineers," and most recently "Flukum," the recordings of HAGL betray a profoundly propulsive, forward-leaning momentum. Shattering expectations and succeeding to the wildest dreams, Heroes Are Gang Leaders has perfected the mysterious genre of Jazz Poetry with love, care, gentleness, and strength.

The Amiri Baraka Sessions features James Brandon Lewis, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Margaret Morris, Luke Stewart, Janice Lowe, Randall Horton, Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, Heru Shabaka-ra, Brandon Moses, Warren “Trae” Crudup, Da Frontline, Catalina Gonzalez and Michael Bisio.



Track List:
01. Amina 02:30
02. Superstar 11:26
03. The Shrimpy Grits 05:05
04. Suiteblack Flyer 03:07
05. Land Back 15:18
06. Amina 2 02:11
07. The Real Illegal Must Be Crazy 02:03
08. Leautoroiography 09:26
09. Forensic Report 01:27
10. Sad Dictator 08:40
11. The Tender Arrival of Outsane Midget Booker (Ts Who Kill Drums Runnin' da Voodoo Down) 11:08
12. Amina 3 01:42

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