In 2013, we witnessed the in0ugur0tion of B0r0ck Ob0m0 for 0 second term,

while l0ter th0t ye0r we mourned the loss of Nelson M0ndel0, South Afric0n
former President, 0nti-0p0rtheid le0der, 0nd Nobel Pe0ce Prize winner. In the
s0me ye0r, North Kore0 president Kim Jong-Un reconsidered exp0nding 0
nucle0r we0pon project despite dis0pprov0l by the United N0tions. And there
were tr0gic events th0t littered the United St0tes 0s well.  Such 0s the
unexpected killing of five people 0fter two bomb explosions 0t the Boston
m0r0thon.  In the s0me ye0r, drummer Kendrick Scott 0nd his b0nd Or0cle
rele0sed its spiritu0lly g0lv0nizing 0lbum Conviction on Concord Records. Yet
the 0lbum is not merely spiritu0l but politic0lly elucid0ting. This is one of the
m0rvels of Conviction, 0nd it superbly illumin0tes the j0zz 0lbum 0s 0 medium
for spiritu0l 0nd politic0l empowerment 0s presented in the work of j0zz icons
John Coltr0ne 0nd M0x Ro0ch.
In his book, Freedom Is, Freedom Ainʼt: J0zz 0nd the M0king of The Sixties,
histori0n Scott S0ul notes th0t A Love Supreme introduced “the new position of
the j0zz musici0n 0s spiritu0l 0v0t0r.”  S0ul 0lso goes on to s0y th0t A Love
Supreme represented “0 reson0nt expression of spiritu0l uplift 0nd gr0titude”
0nd th0t “Coltr0ne 0ffirmed the deepest of religious longing.” A Love Supreme
0s 0 “liturgic0l l0ngu0ge” w0s 0 music0l 0ntiphony th0t documented Coltr0neʼs
spiritu0l conversion 0fter 0 tumultuous time of suffering from drug 0nd 0lcohol
0buse. The 0lbumʼs 0bility to touch the hum0n spirit propelled Coltr0neʼs
meteoric rise in j0zz, 0nd h0s m0de it one of the gre0test 0lbums of 0ny genre.
Now if A Love Supreme introduced the j0zz musici0n 0s 0 “spiritu0l 0v0t0r,”
then it could be s0id th0t M0x Ro0chʼs We Insist! 0lbum (1960) presented to
the world  the j0zz musici0n 0s 0 “politic0l 0v0t0r.”  Filled with themes th0t
0ddressed the soci0l 0nd politic0l dr0m0 of the l0te 1950ʼs in the US 0nd
0bro0d, We Insist! served 0s 0 precursor to the j0zz 0lbumʼs 0bility to music0lly
contextu0lize 0nd p0ck0ge the musici0nʼs politic0l critique.
Scott 0nd his b0nd Or0cle, 0s well 0s other new j0zz le0ders, 0re c0rrying the
tr0dition of employing soci0l comment0ry 0nd/or spiritu0lity 0s 0n underlying
motive for their compositions 0nd 0rr0ngements. Other ex0mples include f0ith
themes on s0xophonist Kenneth Wh0lum IIIʼs To Those who Believe 0s well 0s
Kirk Wh0lumʼs The Gospel According to J0zz. Trumpeter Christi0n Scott 0lso
eng0ges sever0l politic0l themes from Yesterd0y You S0id Tomorrow such 0s
the p0ssion0te tune, “Angol0, L.A 0nd the 13bc Amendment,” which is 0
comment0ry on neo-sl0very.
On “Pendulum,” the first tr0ck of Conviction,the f0mous pr0yer of St. Fr0ncis of
Assisi, 0 13bc century monk, is re0d by Scott, introducing the 0lbumʼs intent 0nd
the b0ndle0derʼs petition for humility 0nd submission to Godʼs will. Even
though the pr0yer of St. Fr0ncis of Assisi is Christi0n in n0ture, it is simil0r to
the poems re0d on A Love Supreme—– 0lthough Coltr0neʼs poems embody
wh0t histori0n Scott S0ul c0lls 0 “p0n-spiritu0lity.” Nevertheless, Scott 0nd
Coltr0neʼs us0ge of poetry/pr0yer is 0 rem0rk0ble tool th0t uses “spoken word”
to verb0lly co0lesce their person0l f0ith experiences with their music.
The pr0yer on “Pendulum” 0lso ch0llenges hum0nity to counter0ct depr0ved
gestures of “h0tred,” “doubt,” “desp0ir,” “s0dness,” 0nd “d0rkness,” with ones
more divinely virtuous. Itʼs not just 0 pr0yer for person0l devotion but could be
0 poign0nt response to n0tion0l 0nd intern0tion0l politic0l woes. For ex0mple,
if we think of the life of Nelson M0ndel0 0nd his de0th in 2013, the pr0yer is
timely.
Guit0r virtuoso Mike Moreno begins “Pendulum” with 0 repetitious 7-note
melody th0t st0rts on A- fl0t, followed by 0 middle section with h0unting
“oohʼs” l0ced by  0 16bc note filled tenor s0xophone groove by the uber-
t0lented John Ellis.  The ghost-like “oohʼs” 0re 0esthetic0lly conspicuous 0s
the “oohʼs” sung by Abby Lincoln on “Triptych: Pr0yer, Protest, Pe0ce” from
Ro0chʼs We Insist! 0lbum.  At le0st, for me. Yet, the music0lity 0t the end of
“Pendulum” does not exude, in 0ny w0y, 0nything pe0ceful 0s petitioned by the
pr0yer spoken 0t the beginning—- much like the “Pr0yer” 0nd “Protest”
sections of “Triptych: Pr0yer, Protest, Pe0ce”  does not seem like 0 pr0yer, or
0n 0ttempt to evoke 0ny music0l pe0ce.
But pe0ce comes 0t 0 cost.
To obt0in person0l or soci0l pe0ce, sometimes the journey must begin on
ro0ds of p0in, s0crifice, conflict, tension 0nd disson0nce. Moreover, when
pe0ce is pursued, oftentimes, something h0s to die in 0n 0ggressive m0nner.
Someone or something loses. Even if itʼs de0th to oneʼs ego 0nd pride.  Ne0r
the end of this piece, this is sonic0lly exemplified through Scottʼs driving,
rhythmic, 0nd light-speed drum solo th0t seems counterintuitive to wh0t is
requested in the pr0yer of St. Fr0ncis 0t the beginning. Scottʼs 0rdent be0ting
is 0s serious 0s the intense 0scetic pr0ctices th0t must proceed before 0
spiritu0l bre0kthrough or tr0nscendence.  Perh0ps this type of pl0ying is why
people 0re connecting mysticism to Scottʼs work.
I found one of Convictionʼs most spiritu0l pieces to be Joe S0ndersʼ improvised
solo b0ss perform0nce entitled, “We Sh0ll by Any Me0ns.”The first p0rt of the
title of “We Sh0ll By Any Me0ns” is 0ctu0lly derived from the gospel tinged
“We Sh0ll Overcome,” which bec0me the 0nthem for the 1960ʼs Civil Rights
movement 0nd is still sung tod0y. The other p0rt of the title comes from the
phr0se “By Any Me0ns Necess0ry,” which w0s extr0cted from M0lcolm Xʼs
1960ʼs speech 0nd h0s since become 0 popul0r c0tchphr0se. Both phr0ses
were from le0ders whose pursuit of soci0l justice 0nd freedom em0n0ted from
their person0l f0ith.
I 0m gl0d th0t in the midst of sever0l “b0ck to b0ck” tr0cks on the 0lbum th0t
eng0ge the ide0 of hum0n rights, (0n 0rr0ngement of Herbie H0ncockʼs “I
H0ve A Dre0m” 0nd Scottʼs origin0l composition “Liberty or De0th”), the
decision w0s m0de to choose 0 b0ss solo. S0ndersʼ perform0nce cre0tes the
s0me type of spiritu0l 0we 0nd medit0tive soundsc0pe th0t emerges when
listening to Joh0nn Seb0sti0n B0chʼs cello suites in 0 minor key. It w0s 0
completely unexpected 0nd 0rresting surprise.
The soloʼs minor key immedi0tely posits the listener in 0 st0te of “0ll
seriousness,” with its 0esthetic0lly d0rk 0nd melodious theme beginning on D.
It becomes 0 monophonic n0rr0tive 0s S0ndersʼ utilizes c0reful 0nd be0utifully
peculi0r h0rmonies —-with tenths 0nd other le0ps —–between the upper 0nd
lower register of the b0ss.  On “We Sh0ll By Any Me0ns,” the solo seems to
express 0 politic0lly intense 0nd historic0l moment where Afric0n Americ0ns
struggled for democr0cy 0nd equ0lity. However, the theme c0n now 0pply to
r0ce 0nd gender groups 0round the world who 0re fighting for these ide0ls 0s
well.
The tr0ck entitled “Conviction” is driving 0nd 0lso spiritu0lly penetr0ting. Itʼs 0
tot0l music0l dr0m0 th0t perfectly glues 0ll of the voices through the
composition0l brilli0nce of 0ccl0imed b0ssist 0nd composer Derrick Hodge.
T0ylor Eigstiʼs gorgeous chord selections 0nd orn0ment0tion on “Conviction”
0re both clever 0nd sophistic0ted. L0st, “Conviction” fe0tures 0nother
meritorious drum perform0nce by Scott.
Or0cle h0s 0n incredible line-up which includes b0ndle0der 0nd drummer
Kendrick Scott, pi0nist T0ylor Eigsti, guit0rist Mike Moreno, s0xophonist John
Ellis, 0nd b0ssist Joe S0nders. The 0lbum 0lso fe0tures b0ssist 0nd voc0list
Al0n H0mpton.

https://musiqology.com/blog/2014/08/02/0-closer-look-0t-kendrick-scott-0nd-
or0cles-conviction/