''Black Woman'' is the debut album by American jazz guitarist

Sonny Sharrock Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock (August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he recorded and performed. One of only a few prominent guitarists who participated in the firs ...

, recorded in 1969 and released on the

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label. In 2000, it was reissued by the Collectables label, paired with the Wayne Henderson album ''People Get Ready''. The album was produced by

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

, with whom Sharrock recorded nine albums. When asked about his fondness for Sharrock's playing, Mann commented: "Lots of people say they can't understand how Sonny Sharrock can be in my band. The only reason for them saying that is: possibly they think that when you're a bandleader you expect all your children to be brought up in your exact image. Which just shows that people and critics don't know anything about individuals."

Reception

In a review for

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, Wilson McCloy awarded the album 3½ stars, and stated: "''Black Woman'' marks an early opportunity for Sharrock's own voice to be heard... This album is not for everyone, even Sonny Sharrock fans may find the music beyond their wildest expectations." Marcus J. Moore, writing for

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, included the album on his list of "15 Essential Black Liberation Jazz Tracks," writing that the title track "was meant to convey the paralyzing stress felt by black women every day in this country. For much of the song, Sharrock's wife... emits primal screams, as the intensity of Sonny's rapid guitar chords grows more riotous. The track might be jarring, but it effectively captures the pain of being treated as subhuman." In an article for

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, Stewart Smith called the album "a stone cold classic" and "an extraordinary piece of energy music that goes way beyond jazz," and praised Linda Sharrock's singing: "She sounds not unlike Albert Ayler, speaking in tongues and summoning the Holy Ghost". In an article for

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, Matthew Sumera called the album "a vital item in Sharrock’s catalogue," and wrote: "Sonny and crew whip up a hell of a maelstrom. Sharrock's most obviously avant-garde statement, the album also contains a kind of theme song in 'Blind Willy,' here played solo... What is striking about this version... ostensibly a tribute to Blind Willie Johnson but perhaps also to Blind Willie McTell, is Sharrock's audible breathing throughout the piece, pacing his phrases as a reed player would. The effect is intimate (and mildly unsettling) but entirely part of Sharrock's conception and approach to his instrument."

Track listing

''All compositions by Sonny Sharrock except as indicated'' # "Black Woman" - 5:16 # "Peanut" - 9:16 # "Bialero" (Traditional) - 4:52 # "Blind Willy" - 3:22 # "Portrait of Linda in Three Colors, All Black" - 8:34

Personnel

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United Sta ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Norris Jones -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Milford Graves Milford Graves (August 20, 1941 – February 12, 2021) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, Professor Emeritus of Music, researcher/inventor, visual artist/sculptor, gardener/herbalist, and martial artist. Graves was noteworthy for his e ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Linda Sharrock Linda Sharrock (also Lynda Sharrock) (born Linda Chambers, April 2, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz singer. Sharrock sang in church choirs as a child. Interested in both folk music and jazz, she studied art while in colleg ...

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

Ted Daniel Ted Daniel (born June 4, 1943) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography He studied trumpet in elementary school, and began his professional career playing local gigs with his childhood friend, the legendary guitarist Sonny Sharrock. ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 3-5) *Richard Pierce - bass (tracks 3-5) *Gary Sharrock - bells (track 1)

References

{{Authority control 1970 debut albums Sonny Sharrock albums Vortex Records albums