Kronos Quartet: Glorious Mahalia

Founded over a half century ago, the Kronos Quartet may look like a classical quartet but time and time again they trick us with their chameleon-like output. They color outside the lines of potentially confining mid-20th century contemporary classical music as they progressively toy with a myriad of genres including jazz, minimalism, beat poetry, rock ala Jimi Hendrix, Dracula and, well, just about anything else. Early Kronos albums found the quartet interpreting the music of jazz giants such as Thelonious Monk (Landmark 1985) and Bill Evans (Landmark 1986.)  Then there is Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (Nonesuch, 1995) which found the group navigating the more intimate settings of a traditional string quartet playing minimalist music. Howl USA (1996) splices together vintage voice samples from the 1950s of the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover at the beginning of the disc precariously balanced by diametrically opposite proclamations from Allen Ginsberg at the end with the quartet gleefully darting in and out and jabbing at listener along the way.  It seems the quartet's goal, in addition to crafting creative music, seems to be to challenge us by making us guess what is next. With Glorious Mahalia, an album focused on both Mahalia Jackson and a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, we are presented with yet another twist in the long and winding road Kronos continues to travel. 

The string quartet on Glorious Mahalia features founder David Harrington (violin) plus John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Sunny Yang (cello).  Recorded in 2022 but released in 2026, long tenured Dutt as well as the other two have left and been replaced since this session was recorded.  As for Jackson, who passed in 1972, her voice is captured from archival recordings.  Jackson believed in the steady guidance of the Lord as she let her gospel and spiritual music be the main conduit for her message.  She matched that with reasoned dialogue with her fellow man about civil rights and equality.  Her spoken words on the first side of this release, at times intermittent, are consistently underscored by pensive, melancholic music and, occasionally, ominous undertones.  The title track is broken into five sections and the quartet contributes gentle ripples and challenging riptides that flow beneath her voice throughout most of the first side. It is not until the fourth segment that we hear her singing a full song with potent purity.  The final cut on the first side, "God Shall Wipe All Tears Away," is an instrumental inspired by a 1930s Jackson recording.  There is a quiet reverence to the piece which sounds like a cross between an early 20th century gospel song and a mid-1800s post-Civil War song. 

The second side of the vinyl LP is devoted to portions of a 2017 recorded conversation with Clarence Jones who was King's lawyer and speechwriter.  He recalls the April 1963 march on Washington which summoned over a quarter million people to join in solidarity.  Kronos enters with an aggressive screech and then Jones calmly recalls that day at the nation's capital.  It is during this segment of the album that we hear firsthand how Jackson extemporaneously encouraged King to "tell 'em about the dream" during King's "I Have a Dream Speech." As with the first side, Kronos follows the clues of the dialogue, enhances the words and guides the listener.  As with so many of their other albums, it is the Kronos' interpretive concept, in addition to the quartet's instruments, that ultimately resonates.  

Both Jackson and King worked in their own way to break racial barriers but there is one message that is surprisingly absent.  The LPs inner sleeve boldly states "Tell 'em about the dream" on the inner jacket while the concluding portion of the second side uses the same phrase.  Although that implies we'll hear an inspirational reflection or the phrase "I have a dream" from King, we never hear his voice.  Since the message is never presented on this project, it leaves a hole where those words could have been shared.  Regardless of whether you have heard all or part of his earth-shaking speech—truly an inspired message from the gods—it is worth seeking out the original recording.  Kudos to Kronos for reminding us to listen and to heed this call to action; now, our mission is to absorb King's message (and Jackson's), continue the journey and carry on.