Bheki Mseleku
Celebration

Vinyl LP pressing. 2016 release. Nine-time Grammy award winner Norah Jones returns to the piano and her roots on her sixth solo album Day Breaks, a kindred spirit to her multi-platinum breakthrough Come Away With Me. Features legendary jazz musicians saxophonist Wayne Shorter, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, and drummer Brian Blade. "This new album feels full circle because I'm going back to my early influences," says Jones. "After the first record, I drifted away from the piano a little bit. I still played it but was more inspired to write on guitar. I really loved playing piano on this record." With the help of co-producer Eli Wolf, Jones enlisted renowned jazz musicians such as drummer Blade, organist Smith and saxophonist Shorter for recording the album. Blade previously worked with Jones on her debut, Come Away with Me. Having just had a baby and a piano in her kitchen, Jones wrote much of the album during late-night sessions at the piano while drawing influence from a wide range of jazz music. There are three cover songs on Day Breaks: "Peace", originally performed by Horace Silver, "Fleurette Africaine (African Flower)", originally performed by Duke Ellington and "Don't Be Denied", originally performed by Neil Young.

Beyond The Willow Tree is a hauntingly beautiful anthology of folk songs chronicling the experience of a young black man growing up in the segregated south. A balanced mix of covers and originals, Cleveland Francis’ body of work seamlessly blends deep, soulful vocals with the stripped-down acoustic instrumentation of folk. In the late 60’s Francis coined the term “soulfolk”, playing his genre bending music across college campuses and coffee shops while earning a medical degree at William & Mary.These songs serve as a missing link between soul and folk music, suppressed by the harsh political landscape of a music industry heavily influenced by racial stereotypes. “If you were black, you played blues or soul music … I wanted to play folk music,” Cleveland professed.Included in this double LP set is Cleveland Francis’ entire 1970 self-released album Follow Me, featuring the original artwork and liner notes printed inside the gatefold. The second LP takes you Beyond The Willow Tree with unreleased demos recorded in 1968 along with one 45 only single recorded in 1970.“These recordings are a look into my soul through a long and lonely journey to understand feelings of my childhood, poverty, racial segregation, bigotry, war, love and hope. It represents my attempt to express and come to terms with all that I have seen and felt as a Black man growing up in America.” - Cleveland Francis