Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ruth Naomi Floyd: Walk And Not Be Faint

115

Ruth Naomi Floyd: Walk And Not Be Faint

By

Sign in to view read count
Ruth Naomi Floyd: Walk And Not Be Faint
Spiritual Jazz. Ruth Naomi Floyd’s jazz is decidedly spiritual. No wonder as she was raised in the Church, daughter of prominent Philadelphia, PA minister, the Reverend Melvin Floyd. She covers the familiar modern hymn “We are one in the Spirit” with enough smart swing to cause the walls to tumble. Smart is the key operative. Floyd’s arrangements and phrasing are carefully crafted tomes tastefully conceived and executed. Her mezzo voice is pliant and cooperative, very pleasing, exuding her spiritual music and personal convictions.

Ms. Floyd has two other releases on Contour Records: With New Eyes (Contour 0925) and Paradigms for Desolate Times (Contour 0923). She is supported by many of the musicians on this disc, but also uses hard talents such as Uri Caine, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Reggie Washington. Her support is more than up to the task of acting as vehicle to her spiritually dense message.

Spiritual Trend. In 1998, trombonist Clifford Adams released a predominantly spiritual jazz recording in The Master Power (Naxos Jazz 86015). Walk and Not Be Faint continues this trend in jazz. The resurgence of spiritual and Christian themes in all genres has been increasing in strength over the past few years. It is no surprise that jazz would be included in this resurgence considering its considerable debt to blues and gospel music. The pieces on this disc are a mixed bag of Floyd originals drawn mostly from Christian Scripture (“We Celebrate”, “Walk and Not Be Faint”), standards (Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing”, Mal Waldron’s “Straight Ahead”), and compositions by band members (pianist James Weidman’s “I’m Telling You Now” and “3 in 1”. Her instrumentation includes violin, flute, soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. The performances are all uniform and fine. The disc sonics are exceptional.

Track Listing

We Celebrate; One In The Spirit; I

Personnel

Ruth Naomi Floyd: Vocals; James Weidman, Jason Shattil: Piano; Tyrone Brown, Steve Beskrone, Matthew Parrish: Bass; Bobby Zankel: Alto and Soprano Saxophones; Kangwon Kim: Violin; Ron Howerton: Percussion.

Album information

Title: Walk And Not Be Faint | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Contour

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.