Oliver Nelson/Carl B Stokes : Mayor & The People – A Black Suite For String Quartet & Jazz Orchestra (LP, Vinyl record album) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store
Skip navigation
Scripting is disabled or not working. dustygroove.com requires JavaScript to function correctly.
Style sheets are disabled or not working. dustygroove.com requires style sheets to function correctly.
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Enlarge       Note

Mayor & The People – A Black Suite For String Quartet & Jazz Orchestra

LP (Item 4330) Flying Dutchman, 1970 — Condition: Near Mint-
Gatefold
An incredibly interesting record – and more of a spoken album than a jazz one, but with great jazz work by Oliver Nelson too! The album's a loving tribute to Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of a major American city (Cleveland) – and it's one of the strongest in a series of African-American culture albums by the Flying Dutchman label at the time. Side one of the record features a press conference with Stokes, in which he outlines his ideas for revitalizing the Cleveland area. But even better is side two – which features a beautiful original composition by Nelson, entitled "A Black Suite For String Quartet & Jazz Orchestra", and which features recitations by Stokes of material by Langston Hughes and Gil Scott-Heron. The whole thing's great – extremely powerful and progressive, with tracks that include "Paint It Black", "I Too Sing America", "Mother To Son", "Sit Down", and "I Dream A World".  © 1996-2025, Dusty Groove, Inc.
(Cover has a cutout notch, light wear, and aging.)

Near Mint - (minus)

  • Black vinyl that may show a slight amount of dust or dirt.
  • Should still be very shiny under a light, even with slight amount of dust on surface.
  • One or two small marks that would make an otherwise near perfect record slightly less so. These marks cannot be too deep, and should only be surface marks that won't affect play, but might detract from the looks.
  • May have some flaws and discoloration in the vinyl, but only those that would be intrinsic to the pressing. These should disappear when the record is tilted under the light, and will only show up when looking straight at the record. (Buddah and ABC pressings from the 70's are a good example of this.)
  • May have some slight marks from aging of the paper sleeve on the vinyl.
  • Possible minor surface noise when played.

Condition Notes

If something is relevant, we try to describe it in the notes — especially if it is release or pressing details, or an oddity that is the only wrong thing about the record. This might include, but isn't limited to, warped records, tracks that skip, cover damage or wear, or strictly cosmetic flaws.


You might be interested


Flying Dutchman, 1970. Very Good+ Gatefold
One of Oliver Nelson's hippest albums – a bold statement of righteous energy, and a fantastic summation of all the genius he'd created during the 60s as an arranger for other people's records! The record is almost at a Duke Ellington level – a complex yet soulful suite of tracks for ... LP, Vinyl record album
Contact/Flying Dutchman, 1944. Near Mint- Gatefold
LP...$4.99 11.99
A really great little album on the short-lived, Bob Thiele-run Contact label that collects rare early work by Shelly Manne from 1944! The set features a series of New York recordings with Shelly – 4 tracks with the Barney Bigard Trio with Eddie Heywood on piano; 4 more with the Eddie ... LP, Vinyl record album
Blue Note, 1967. Very Good+
One of the first truly important records from Don Cherry as a leader – and an amazingly well-crafted session that brings together ideas from his early years with Ornette, and expands them with some of the freedoms he was learning from the European scene! The record boasts a format and lineup ... LP, Vinyl record album

Miles Davis

Water Babies
Columbia, 1976. Near Mint-
A much different album than you might expect from the cover – hardly the funky 70s set implied by the Big Fun-styled cover – and instead a lost slice of work from his groundbreaking late 60s years! The set was recorded in 1967, but unissued until Miles late 70s time away from the ... LP, Vinyl record album
Arista/Freedom, 1975. Near Mint- 2LP Gatefold
Excellent Artista/Freedom reissue that brings together the full set from Cecil's 1962 performance at Cafe Monmartre. He's playing here in a trio that has Jimmy Lyons on alto and Sonny Murray on drums, and the music's a key link between his later seventies stuff, and his earlier work that you can ... LP, Vinyl record album
Atlantic, Late 60s/Early 70s. Very Good+ 2LP Gatefold
2 LP set of tracks from Roland's best moments over the Atlantic years. Included within are many hard to find cuts from albums that we almost never see any more. Titles include "Volunteered Slavery", "Black & Crazy Blues", "Rahsaanica", "Ninth Ghost", ... LP, Vinyl record album
Blue Note, Late 50s. Near Mint-
A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver ... LP, Vinyl record album

Ramsey Lewis

Sun Goddess
Columbia, 1974. Very Good+
One of our favorite Ramsey Lewis albums ever – and a perfect summation of the genius that was brewing on the Chicago scene in the late 60s and early 70s! The album has Ramsey working strongly with Earth Wind & Fire – no surprise, given his close ties to Maurice White, who was the ... LP, Vinyl record album

John McLaughlin

Where Fortune Smiles
Dawn (UK), 1971. Near Mint- Gatefold
A groundbreaking early album from guitarist John McLaughlin – a set that's a bit different than his more famous work of the mid 70s – with maybe a more avant approach, and a lot more bite as well! The set's really an equal collaboration, rather than just a McLaughlin session – ... LP, Vinyl record album

Barry Harris

Listen To Barry Harris
Riverside, 1961. Very Good
One of the rarest Barry Harris albums – and an obscure solo session from 1961! Solo sessions were not that common at the time in the jazz industry, and it was even less common for a young player like Harris to get the chance to record the album. The record shows him in a lyrical complicated ... LP, Vinyl record album

Paul Desmond

Summertime
CTI/A&M, 1968. Very Good+ Gatefold
A perfect complement to Paul's other early CTI album – From The Hot Afternoon – and like that one, this album's a swirling match of tracks that mix together bossa rhythms, jazzy orchestrations, and Desmond's impeccably sharp alto sax. Don Sebesky handled the arrangements, giving the ... LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Brubeck

Time Out
Columbia, 1959. Very Good+
Easily the crowning moment of genius for the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet – the moment when all things came together magically, and the group somehow elevated themselves to a whole new level in jazz! At the time of the set, Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and the rest had already been making plenty ... LP, Vinyl record album
 



⇑ Top