Harlem Homecoming (Ujam Records 126, 2006), is Salim Washington's latest release with the Harlem Arts Ensemble, The group consists of Washington (tenor saxophone, flute, oboe and vocals); Kuumba Frank Lacy (trombone, flugelhorn); Waldron Ricks (trumpet); Melanie Dyer (viola); Kurtis Rivers and Henry Cook (reeds/woodwinds); Rumas Barrett (percussion); Donald Smith (piano); Andy McCloud and Steve Neil (bass); Malik Washington, Mark Johnson and Taru Alexander (drums); Aaron Johnson (tuba).

Harlem Arts Ensemble is a rare organism in today's marketplace - not a one-time, all-star aggregation created for a label's recording project, but an ongoing musical entity, a close-knit artistic community of formidable musicians. The core of the band performs together weekly at Harlem's St. Nick's pub, where the audience is as live as the band. The horn section (including viola) has been performing together for over two decades (first as the Roxbury Blues Aesthetic and now as the Harlem Arts Ensemble). This longstanding rapport translates into an intimate and forward-looking sound, evoking the spirits of Charles Mingus, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, and the Holiness Church. Virginia Reed of Focus says of the group's first recording, “[The Harlem Arts Ensemble] works in a variety of idioms, mixing gospel reverence with bluesy abandonment, incorporating gritty funk into free flights of improv, while allowing soloists ample opportunity for a personal voice among the full bodied arrangements ... there are all periods of the jazz experience, from Ellington, into Monk, into Mingus, that twist through [their] material as one of the most interesting 'little big bands' in America."

This is a recording of originals by Salim Washington. Kuumba Frank Lacy's “Stranded" offers us a glimpse into his days with the Jazz Messengers. After the apocalyptic “There is Now Grass Growing in Antarctica," the recording finds a hopeful benediction in “How Great Thou Art," with “Yes Lord," the classic holiness chant.

The title cut, “Harlem Homecoming," an ensemble signature, offers a variegated soundscape. We hear sirens, hustlers, childplay, nightclubs, stump orators -- the diasporic rhythms of this cultural Mecca. On the lyrical “Morning is the Time for Miracles," the ensemble grooves with Washington's soulful flute, and Taru Alexander's simmering, masterful touch. “Country Walk," places the listener in the presence of a “jug band," with oboe strutting across washboard and tuba. “In Search of Sane Alternatives," combines an elegy to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, with bold political commentary in the traditions of Mingus and Gil Scott-Heron. “Jamila," showcases the unique talents of Donald Smith, a true genius of astonishing range and beauty.

Harlem Homecoming is available online through Ujam Records (see website below), and is also distributed through North Country (http://www.ncdsales.com/) and CD Baby.