Releases October 4, 2024 – Pre-Orders on Now
[AUM120]
CD - deluxe 6-panel digipak printed on heavyweight stock reverse board, with 16pg. booklet feat. liner notes by Harmony Holiday & reflections by seven additional artists.
LP - Ltd. edition of 600 on black vinyl // Jacket printed on heavyweight reverse board. Includes insert w/ liner notes by Harmony Holiday & Darius' family photo with frame artwork by Risha Rox. Full-res download code of total work included.
Darius Jones: composer, alto saxophone
Gerald Cleaver: drums
Chris Lightcap: bass
Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) is the powerful new work by composer & alto saxophonist Darius Jones. Both of his tremendous artistic strengths are to the fore here in a fully committed trio communion with longtime collaborator drummer Gerald Cleaver & the likewise exceptional bassist Chris Lightcap. Five potent new Jones compositions, and a striking arrangement of “No More My Lord” (the prison song recorded by Alan Lomax at Parchman Farm, MS).
Legend of e’Boi is the 7th chapter (of 9 on completion) in Jones’ expansive Man’ish Boy epic, begun with AUM Fidelity in 2009. Commensurately powerful liner notes by acclaimed writer and poet Harmony Holiday, cover art photography by Jesse Ponkamo, and additional artwork by Risha Rox potently elucidate further.
Typical of his work, Legend of e’Boi serves as a larger creative vehicle for artistic exchange. This project is about Black mental health and healing from personal and collective trauma through therapy, community & creative expression. In addition to the liner notes, CD/digital editions include booklets w/ contributions from seven writers & artwork which also address this theme.
Jones has received worldwide acclaim over the past 15 years not only for his albums featuring music & images evocative of Black Futurism, but also for his commissioned work as a composer throughout the U.S. and Canada. Jones’ previous release, fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred), was ranked #3 in The Wire’s Top 50 Albums of 2023 and chosen among NPR’s 50 Best Albums of 2023.
((( Δ L I S T E N Δ )))
1. Affirmation Needed (8:35)
2. Another Kind of Forever (8:49)
3. No More My Lord (9:33)
4. We Outside (11:37)
5. We Inside Now (8:11)
6. Motherfuckin Roosevelt (8:27)
LP edition:
A – Affirmation Needed / Another Kind of Forever
B – We Inside Now / No More My Lord
* includes full-res download code of the total work
All compositions by Darius Jones, © AstonBoymusic (ASCAP)
except “No More My Lord”, based on the prison song recorded
by Alan Lomax in Parchman, MS; arranged by Darius Jones
Recorded & Mixed by Aaron Nevezie at The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn
Mastered by Matt Mehlan at The Stuudio
Cover photography by Jesse Ponkamo
Artwork by Risha Rox, mixed media on paper
Family photo of Darius & sister Amy
Liner notes by Harmony Holiday
Layout/design by Ming@AUM
Produced by Darius Jones & Steven Joerg