Renaissance Man by Jamaaladeen Tacuma

When Jamaaladeen Tacuma first learned about Paul Robeson’s life, he got angry. “I was absolutely furious,” says the Philadelphia free jazz and funk bass player. What fueled Tacuma’s rage back in 1982 was a public television program about Robeson, a Black man born in Princeton in 1898 who died in Philadelphia in 1976. The then-25-year-old Tacuma had grown up without having ever learned anything about the towering figure in 20th-century American history.
“I was mad because I didn’t know anything about him, because his story had been erased and I hadn’t been taught about him in school,” says Tacuma, who at the time was the bassist in Ornette Coleman’s band Prime Time, one of the greatest and most adventurous jazz groups of all time.
“I went to my record label at the time, Gramavision Records, and I said: ‘Look at this cat. I never knew about this guy before,’ ” recalls Tacuma, 65. ”I mean, goodness gracious, everything he put his hands on, he was unbelievable at. I said, look, I got to do something about this.”- Dan DeLuca Philadelphia Inquirer 2022

Renaissance Man is 25 year old Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s tribute to beloved black historical icon Paul Robeson. As producer on his sophomore album Tacuma shines ,selecting an eclectic cast of musicians to fulfill his dynamic and heartfelt musical vision. Don’t be shocked when you hear rock drumming legend Bill Bruford along side David Murray , or Classical music’s celebrated Eboni Strings Quartet on another track. At the time he was completely immersed in Ornette Colemans Harmolodic world. He had been touring and working intensely with Coleman since he was 18 and he is showing no restraint in letting Harmolodic concepts shine through his own unique musical language seeing no boundaries and no categories worth keeping. Just as the real “Renaissance Man” Paul Robeson did. At the time the music business didn’t know what box to put these LP’s in when the got to the music store. Today most listeners do not need a box .

Tracklist

1.	Renaissance Man	5:22

2.	Flash Back	6:01

3.	Lets Have A Good Time	6:02

4.	The Next Stop	5:56

5.	Dancing in Your Head	6:20

6.	There He Stood	4:15

7.	The Battle of Images in 4 Movements	10:17

8.	Sparkle	7:17

Credits

released March 31, 2022

A1 Renaissance Man 5:18
A2 Flash Back 5:51
A3 Let's Have A Good Time 5:50
A4 The Next Stop 5:56
B1 Dancing In Your Head 6:10
B2 There He Stood 4:09
B3 The Battle Of Images - In Four Movements 10:06
B4 Sparkle 7:11

Total Time: 51:28
Line-up/Musicians

African Flute, Cornet, Flute Olu Dara( A1)
Alto Saxophone – James R. Watkins (tracks: A1 to A4),Ornette Coleman (track B1)
Tenor Saxophone – David Murray (track B4)
Drums – Cornell Rochester (tracks: A1 to A4),Bill Bruford(track B4)
Drums [African Gymbe] – Daryl Burgee (track B4)
Electric Bass, Electronics [Electronic Claps] – Jamaaladeen Tacuma (tracks: A1 to A4,B1,B4)
Bass [Peavey T-20 Lined Fretless] – Jamaaladeen Tacuma (track B3)
Bass Guitar [Four And Five Stringed Steiberger], Bass [Peavey T-20 Lined Fretless] – Jamaaladeen Tacuma (track B2)
Electric Guitar – Rick Iannacone (tracks: A1 to A4),Charles Ellerbe(track B1),Vernon Reed(track B4)
Percussion – Ron Howerton (tracks: A1 to A4,B1),Daniel Ponce (track B2),
Lyrics By [Poem], Narrator – Howie Montaug (track B2)
Cello – Aaron Henderson (track B3)
Strings – Ebony String Quartet (track B3)
Timpani, Percussion – Bob Zollman (track B3)
Electronics [Dmx], Drum Programming (track B1)– Greg Mann, Jamaaladeen Tacuma
About this release
Gramavision ‎– GR 8308(Germany)

Track A1 to A4, B3 recorded at Studio 4, Philadelphia, 1983
Track B1 recorded at Gramavision Recording Studio, New York, 1984
Track B2 recorded at Sinus Musik, Berlin, Germany, 1983

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