"I would answer, 'Well, here's why you don't know it — no one really does unless you're some kind of archivist, or a musical archaeologist,'" says Brooklyn-based bassist David Ambrosio of the largely forgotten 1960s recordings at the heart of his jazz project Civil Disobedience. Ambrosio spoke with Cara Lieurance ahead of the group's appearance Wednesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Bullock Series at Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall.
Civil Disobedience centers on politically charged jazz compositions recorded for Blue Note Records during the 1960s — music made by Black jazz musicians in the thick of the civil rights era, then shelved for decades when the label changed ownership around 1970. Ambrosio painstakingly transcribed the original recordings — drawn primarily from sessions by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean — then rearranged the material for a classic jazz quintet, navigating the challenge of transposing high-register vibraphone lines into a tenor and trumpet front line.
"There's an intensity to the music from that era," Ambrosio says. "It has a somewhat hopeful sound to it, but it also feels almost like a call to action. I feel like you really feel all of that — the love, the sense of community." He adds that the themes resonate far beyond their original moment: the compositions feel urgent and relevant today precisely because so few people have ever heard them.
The recording of the project, due out May 15 on New York's Blue Frog Records, features drumming legend Victor Lewis alongside Grammy-nominated saxophonist Donny McCaslin and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. The touring version of the band performing Wednesday features McCaslin, trumpeter Jason Palmer, pianist Bruce Barth, and drummer Rudy Royston.
Ambrosio, who runs his own teaching studio in New York and is on the faculty at Hunter College, actively seeks out college venues first when booking Civil Disobedience tours. "With this band, I actually seek out those kinds of gigs at colleges before I even book the tour," he says, "because the message of this record is about community and growth — and it's the young people who have to navigate the society we're dealing with right now."
Before the concert, Ambrosio leads a student workshop in the afternoon, with a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the WMU School of Music website and at the door.