Stephanie Nilles - I Pledge Allegiance to The Flag - The White Flag (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Among the many issues that still plague the United States is its seemingly unending betrayal of its Black population. Though the struggle against prejudice in the States continues, the complexion of its fighters continues to change, as broader swathes of the American public begin to pick up the mantle of racial justice and equality for all.

The voices of African American militants continue to ring in the vanguard’s ears. One such musical example is the late, great bassist/composer Charles Mingus, whose music was vehemently charged with indignation concerning the rights of the downtrodden. His messages, both outright and nuanced, are touchstones for many musicians who choose to address these issues, including singer-songwriter/pianist Stephanie Nilles, who interprets Mingus’s canon on her new recording, I pledge allegiance to the flag – the white flag.

Born six years after Mingus’s death, Nilles comes from a world removed from that of her muse. She is a white woman who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and studied classical piano and cello. Nilles’s initial introduction to jazz came through her younger brother’s bass study and his involvement with a summer jazz orchestra. It was through her brother that her ears first caught the sounds of Mingus’s “Jump Monk,” igniting a spark that would catch up with her down the line.

TRACKLIST

01. Stephanie Nilles - Fables of Faubus
02. Stephanie Nilles - East Coasting
03. Stephanie Nilles - Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me
04. Stephanie Nilles - O.P.
05. Stephanie Nilles - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
06. Stephanie Nilles - Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi U.S.A
07. Stephanie Nilles - Devil Woman
08. Stephanie Nilles - Peggy's Blue Skylight
09. Stephanie Nilles - Pithecanthropus Erectus
10. Stephanie Nilles - Remember Rockefeller at Attica
11. Stephanie Nilles - Alabama



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