Corey Harris - Insurrection Blues
We have a limited amount of autographed CDs.
You can purchase the digital edition via iTunes here
Insurrection Blues, Harris' 20th album overall and first for M.C. Records, continues a blues journey that began with his debut album Between Midnight and Day in 1995. Released on November 5th, 2021, the songs are full topical relevance, yet steeped in tradition and informed by his musical explorations over the decades. Recorded in Italy under shutdown conditions, the album returns to the solo acoustic format that's been his base since his early days as a busker in New Orleans. But you can also hear between the lines traces of the different styles he's absorbed, including the roots music he heard during a year's stay in West Africa.
Harris weaves gospel, Delta blues, and the roots of these forms in an acoustic tour de force worthy of the MacArthur Fellowship and honorary music doctorate from his alma mater, Bates College in Maine. – Glide Magazine
Given his gift of synthesizing many musical
strands into a seamless piece of work, it’s no wonder Harris has received
many accolades. Among them is being awarded a MacArthur Fellowship —
commonly referred to as a “genius award” — from the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation, and an honorary music doctorate from his alma
mater, Bates College in Maine. He’s a sought-after collaborator, too. He
was featured in the Scorsese film “Feel Like Going Home” and on
the now-classic “Mermaid Avenue” albums of rediscovered Woody Guthrie
songs, for which he wrote some of the music. Corey has collaborated with
B.B. King, Tracy Chapman, and Dave Matthews.
In Insurrection Blues Harris brings some necessary
commentary into his acoustic universe. Like many of us, he was
paying attention to national events during the pandemic lockdown. And
when he saw the profoundly disturbing events in Washington DC on January
6th, the path of his next album became clear. I was on Twitter and
probably saw the first video five minutes after it was posted. I play
music because I have something to say, and I'm thankful that I can eat because
of it. When I saw those Twitter feeds on January 6th, I felt there was a
duty, a responsibility, to use the craft to say
something.
His feelings about the insurrection made a framework for the album, whether the songs were explicitly connected or not. As an African American living in America, as a descendant of slaves that built this country, I am looking at the survival mechanisms that have existed for people to persevere in difficult times. And when we think about that, the blues always comes to mind.
