12/06/2026
Touching homebuilt compositions from celebrated American novelist, playwright and poet Ishmael Reed, channelling a long life immersed in jazz culture. A joint in-house production from All Night Flight and NYC-based label Reading Group / derek b .
You’re never too old to learn something new. Reed credits bebop with keeping him and his friends out of reform school because they were too busy listening to records at each other’s houses to get into trouble. Finding fame as a distinguished writer, he found his way back to music circuitously, eventually taking the plunge at aged 60 to study jazz piano. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 he hastily assembled a quintet to fulfil a lifelong ambition of recording an album. He made the record but thankfully he didn’t succumb to his illness Cash-strapped during COVID, he became a composer to save on money for his own plays, enlisting his daughter Tennessee as the narrator.
These humble origins and a genuine love (and natural talent) for music are what underpins The Hands Of Grace. Consisting of works written for Reed’s play ‘The Slave Who Loved Caviar’ alongside new original compositions, it brings in close friends and family to accompany his casual, unvarnished playing style that’s so genuinely heartfelt it feels as if you could be sat alongside them in their living room. The music carries a lived-in simplicity yet it also holds something ambiguous that draws it away from the predictable. Music papers rustle, a living room chair is dragged up to the keys whilst Reed’s wife Carla contributes violin and daughter Tennessee recites her poetry on standout ‘How High The Moon’. This is a poignant family affair with no-one left out, ending on a touching tribute and voicemail from their late daughter Timothy.
Ever since it first appeared on CD The Hands Of Grace has become a staple. A record to return to, a uniquely personal tribute, a document of working method, a lifelong passion finally coming to fruition…(Mint / new - with free DL & double sided insert - shops pls ask for wholesale)
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