Doug Carn - Revelation (Quad Reel to DVDA DTS 9624 Dolby)

Perhaps the hardest to find of the Doug Carn LP’s on Black Jazz – and a real killer all the way through! The album’s a mother lode of righteous jazzy soul – power-driven by Doug on organ, and peppered wonderfully with vocals by then-wife Jean Carn – singing in a totally different mode than on her later Philly Soul recordings. The rest of the group includes some great work from Olu Dara on trumpet and Rene McLean on alto and the album includes Doug’s great reading of “Naima”, plus the cuts “Power & Glory”, “Feel Free”, “Jihad”, “Fatherhood”, and “God is One”.

By Edward Darden “Jazz Is”
If you have landed here, then the Universe has pulled you and you have followed: There was a time when everything seemed just about to happen, needing just a spark to bring about a new world; this recording was of that time–it still strikes sparks. Listen especially for the freedom in Walter Booker’s bass and vigor in Ira “Buddy” Williams’ drumming. Naz’ daddy, Olu Dura on trumpet, and Jackie McLean’s son, Rene on tenor/vocals fill our ears with musical joy. All these attributes and more are captured in Jean’s singing and in Doug’s compositions and keyboard playing. If ever music could evoke the spirit of its time, then none does that better than this music. It is a Revelation.

By Dawoud Kringle
In the 1960′s there began what can only be described as a spiritual revolution among jazz musicians. Spearheaded by the likes of Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Saunders, etc. jazz became a means for social change and a vehicle for spiritual enlightenment.
“Revelation” by Doug Carn was a lost masterpiece of this era. Apart from the top rate songwriting and musicianship, this recording demonstrates and evokes in the listener a joy and an elevation of the spirit and heart that is sadly lacking on most music.
Jazz musicians and audiences would do well to remember that this music means a triumph of the spirit and dignity of the human being over oppression and despair. This cannot be accomplished by that trumpet player whose docility is being exploited by that large classical music venue in New York City; or the hoards of bebop nazis who think that the development of jazz ended in 1964.
This is timeless music and a wonderful addition to any soul/jazz lovers collection