Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Smithsonian Folkways
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An Animated Interview with Bluegrass Pioneer Alice Gerrard
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![Lula Wiles - Oh My God [Official Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Kmm7TRXrKCk/mqdefault.jpg "Lula Wiles - Oh My God [Official Audio]
Lula Wiles - Oh My God [Official Audio]")
![Dan + Claudia Zanes - Coming Down [Official Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KvQXrZdPeG4/mqdefault.jpg "Dan + Claudia Zanes - Coming Down [Official Audio]
Dan + Claudia Zanes - Coming Down [Official Audio]")
![Kronos Quartet - Glorious Mahalia: IV. Sometime I feel like a motherless child [Official Audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OUl96HRwJKM/mqdefault.jpg "Kronos Quartet - Glorious Mahalia: IV. Sometime I feel like a motherless child [Official Audio]
In this plaintive, forceful tapestry of performances - one from the 1950s, one from today - Kronos Quartet plays along with gospel legend and civil rights stronghold Mahalia Jackson. The traditional African American spiritual intertwines Jackson’s storied voice and the sparse, ruminative piano accompaniment of her collaborator Mildred Falls with award-winning composer Stacy Garrop’s original arrangement.
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/kronos-quartet/glorious-mahalia
Bandcamp: https://kronosquartet.bandcamp.com/album/glorious-mahalia
All other platforms: https://orcd.co/kronos-quartet-glorious-mahalia
Midway through Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King’s close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century. Glorious Mahalia, a visionary tribute to Jackson’s life by the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, uses that moment as a springboard to explore the depth of Jackson’s musical craft and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement, including her relationship with Clarence Jones and Studs Terkel, other luminaries of the time. Featuring compositions by Stacy Garrop and Zachary James Watkins, a new arrangement of Jackson’s astonishing version of the Antonio Haskell composition “God Shall Wipe All Tears Away,” and archival audio of Jacksons voice, the album illuminates Jacksons historic artistry and advocacy.
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