In the World: From Natchez to New York

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In the World: From Natchez to New York
Studio album by
Olu Dara
ReleasedFebruary 17, 1998
Recorded1997
GenreJazz
Length46:49
LabelAtlantic[1]
ProducerYves Beauvais, Olu Dara
Olu Dara chronology
In the World: From Natchez to New York
(1998) 		Neighborhoods
(2001)

In the World: From Natchez to New York is the solo debut album by the jazz cornetist Olu Dara, released in 1998.[2] Dara also sings and plays guitar on the album.[3]

The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart.[4]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Robert Christgau(dud)[6]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

The Washington Post's Geoffrey Himes wrote: "Mixing up sly humor and evocative description, Dara's singing slips and slides around the steady guitar rhythms, which borrow equally from Delta blues, Caribbean calypso and West African high-life."[8]

In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow called the album a "fascinating and successful effort," and stated: "Dara emerges here as an effective country-blues singer and guitarist. Fortunately, Dara does not neglect his cornet but the music is definitely much different than one might expect."[5]

Derk Richardson of SFGate commented: "Performing songs about daily life in the 'hood back in the day of okra-selling street peddlers, intoning blues that refuse to separate desire from its cultural context, and collaborating with his rap star son Nas, Dara manifests an aesthetic co-inhabited by Robert Johnson, Tampa Red, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and Arrested Development's Speech as if they were all members of the same band."[9]

Writing for JazzTimes, Bret Primack described the album as "a cohesive creation that seamlessly weaves diverse elements in new and intriguing ways," and noted: "Flying below the radar of commercial media, Dara has managed to chart a course for his creativity by 'having my hand in many ways of expressing myself'."[10]

A reviewer for CMJ New Music Report remarked: "As warm and as gentle as a summer day in Mississippi, the appropriately named album is a perfect blend of Southern blues, New York jazz and African rhythms... [its] seductive groove, cool melodies and spare lyrics result in pure enchantment."[11]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Okra" – 4:48
  2. "Rain Shower" – 4:34
  3. "Natchez Shopping Blues" – 3:34
  4. "Your Lips" – 3:58
  5. "Harlem Country Girl" – 5:47
  6. "Zora" – 3:14
  7. "Young Mama" – 4:44
  8. "Bubber (If Only)" – 3:04
  9. "Father Blues" – 3:32
  10. "Jungle Jay" featuring Nas – 5:02
  11. "Kiane" – 4:32

Personnel[edit]

  • Olu Dara – lead vocals, cornet, trumpet, guitar, bass drum, percussion, backing vocals
  • Nas – vocals (track 10)
  • Kwatei Jones-Quartey – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion
  • Ivan Ramirez – electric guitar
  • Rudy "Obadeli" Herbert – organ
  • Alonzo Gardner – bass
  • Greg Bandy – drums
  • Richard James – congas
  • Cantrese Alloway, Darada David, Joyce Malone, Melba Joyce – backing vocals

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Olu Dara by Tracie Morris - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org.
  2. ^ "Olu Dara Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Yanow, Scott (October 12, 2001). "The Trumpet Kings: The Players who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Olu Dara". Billboard.
  5. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "Olu Dara: In the World: From Natchez to New York". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Olu Dara". www.robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (October 12, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (February 13, 1998). "Olu Dara 'In the World: From Natchez to New York' Atlantic". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Richardson, Derk (July 13, 2000). "Olu Dara at Yoshi's, Mary Gauthier at the Noe Valley Ministry". SF Gate. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Primack, Bret (March 1, 1998). "Olu Dara". JazzTimes. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  11. ^ "CMJ's Top 30 Editorial Picks". CMJ New Music Report. January 11, 1999. p. 5 – via Google Books.


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