Wisdom

This encounter between world music percussionist Tom Teasley and longtime collaborator Charles Williams stands as a profoundly moving tribute to the gregarious griot who joined the ancestors shortly after these intimate recordings were made in 2022. These dozen tunes filled with timeless truths and ancient wisdom, along with some hipster insights (courtesy of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes), blend beautifully with sparse, healing tones provided by world music maven Teasley on djembe drum, tuned Rav Vast drum, bodhran, tambourine, Native American flute and melodica. And with Williams singing in his deep, Robeson-esque baritone on spirituals like “Wade in the Water” and “Oh Freedom,” or the buoyant West African song “Funga Alafia” (a precursor to “Li’l Liza Jane”), then reciting “African Proverbs,” the traditional Cherokee “Tale of the Two Wolves” and Hughes’ jivey “Motto” (ending in the hepcat’s axiom:“Dig, and be dug in return”), the result is a set of music that communicates with uncanny gravity while going straight to the heart.

Said Teasley, “I proposed the idea of this project to Charles, who had sung at the Met and worldwide, doing opera, show music and more. To prepare for such an esoteric project, we toured Europe and the Middle East, often through the auspices of the US State Department. Our relationship transcended the work. In many ways, he was both a father figure and a big brother to me. Charles was larger than life, and although we know time stands still for no man, it was still a shock when he passed. And he still travels with me. “

Four pieces here — “African Proverbs,” “I Dream a World,” “I Still Believe” and “Oh Freedom” — were recorded at a video session a little over a week before Williams’ passing. “The session was of unspoken importance, but not sadness,” said Teasley. “Charles was at our house watching the video presentation with me after dinner. Three days later, he died in his sleep. He was 86.”

Teasley added, “While all of the performances we did together in the last year of his life were with the knowledge that there might not be many more, these final performances, to me, cut through all the trappings of show biz and represent the eternal truth. Now, I want to honor Charles’ memory by bringing positive energy into the world through music.”

— Bill Milkowski, July 15, 2024