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Songs in Flight
Rhiannon Giddens, Will Liverman, Reginald Mobley, Karen Slack, Paul Sánchez, Julian Velasco
Shawn E. Okpebholo

2025CDR-90000234African American Composers and Artists, Contemporary, Piano, Vocal

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A powerful listen. The album hits you in the heart with forgotten stories of enslaved individuals brought to life by a stacked lineup of talent. The opening track, “Oh Freedom,” is a raw depiction of Okpebholo’s compositional voice and Rhiannon Giddens’s emotive vocal grit, setting the stage for the depth of passion found throughout the rest of the album.

LaRob K. RafaelHost

This new release features world premiere recordings of Shawn E. Okpebholo’s complete song cycle Songs in Flight. Drawing inspiration from 18th and 19th century print advertisements for the recapture of runaway enslaved individuals, Songs in Flight explores their untold stories with texts by poets Tsitsi Jaji, Crystal Simone Smith, and Tyehimba Jess. The work incorporates styles including spirituals, folk tunes, elegies, and protest songs, each movement offering a unique historical narrative.

Performers include an array of Grammy Award-winning and -nominated artists known for their dedication to cultural and historical music projects: singer and multi-instrumentalist, Rhiannon Giddens, soprano Karen Slack, countertenor Reginald Mobley, baritone Will Liverman, and pianist Paul Sánchez. Saxophonist Julian Velasco joins in two of the four additional songs included after the cycle.

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