No single musician embodied jazz's New Thing in the ‘60s like saxophonist Archie Shepp, a fearless explorer with a deep respect for the past. He opens his version of Ellington's classic ballad “In a Sentimental Mood” with a scorching improvisation before channelling the tenderness of Ben Webster, while on “Mama Too Tight” he collided the sound of James Brown with free-jazz impulses. He commented on the prison rights movement with his funky “Attica Blues”, while brooking no cynicism in his heartfelt interpretation of Bessie Smith's “Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out”, with pianist Horace Parlan.
