Welcome to the December 2019 Holiday Edition of Black Grooves, sponsored by the Indiana University Archives of African American Music and Culture.
In keeping with the season, we’re starting off with our list of the Best New Holiday Albums, featuring releases from Keb’ Mo’, Ne-Yo, Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The McCrary Sisters, Elijah Blake, Jonathan Butler, and Mariah Carey.
.Special editions and box sets include Classic Blues Artwork from the 1920’s, vol. 17 (2020 calendar + CD), Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys’ Songs for Groovy Children: Fillmore East Concerts, Nat King Cole’s Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943), Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records: The Definitive Collection featuring Chicago blues and gospel, LAMP Records: It Glowed Like the Sun: The Story of Naptown’s Motown featuring Indianapolis artists, the anniversary compilation Down in Jamaica: 40 Years of VP Records, a celebration of the Fred Hersch Trio’s 10 Years / 6 Discs, the Super Deluxe Edition of Prince’s 1999, Mary J. Blige’s HERstory Vol. 1, the 10th Anniversary limited edition of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, and a vinyl box set of the Miles Davis Quintet’s Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions.
If you’re looking for books to gift, we’re featuring Booker T. Jones’s new autobiography, Time is Tight: My Life Note By Note plus the companion CD, Note by Note; Aaron Cohen’s Move on Up: Chicago’s Soul Music and Black Cultural Power; Prince’s memoir The Beautiful Ones, and Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story by Billy Vera.
New releases include the world premiere recording of Margaret Bond’s Christmas cantata Ballad of the Brown King, the compilation Black Voices Rise: African American Artists at the Met 1955-1985, James Brown’s 1969 homecoming concert in Augusta, Georgia’s released for the first time on Live At Home With His Bad Self, jazz drummer Jerome Jennings’s Solidarity which focuses on the experiences of African American women, and the London Afrobeat Collective’s Humans.
For the new parents on your holiday shopping list there’s Lullaby Renditions of Snoop Dogg from Rockabye Baby. Wrapping up this issue is our list of November 2019 Black Music Releases of Note.