Topic: Jazz - Modern
Few of the modern jazz versions of "Kumbaya" uploaded to YouTube used voices. The religious associations may have prevented some from making recordings. Derrick Lewis told an interviewer:
"My devoutly religious grandmother, who lived in South Carolina, might roll over in her grave at the sound of contemporary gospel music. And in North Carolina, Lewis says, his saxophone accompaniment with one gospel group made a few churchgoers uneasy." [1]
His own version was divided into two parts. In the first he played the melody three times with few variations. In the second, a woman sang three verses. She ended singing "Say Jesus" and Lewis completed the phrase and played his own improvisations. He used the standard 1-3-5 melody, but she tended to use the more traditional 1-5.
Lewis kept the accompaniment simple: instead of a piano, string bass, and drums, he used a synthesizer, drums, and shaker. Even when he played variations, the synthesizer maintained the melody with parallel chords.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: woman
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: Derrick Lewis, soprano saxophone
Instrumental Accompaniment: synthesizer
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums, shaker
Credits
Copyright: (C) 2008 Uplifting Sax Production
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: she took audible breaths at the ends of lines on the first verse
Verses: come by here, needs you, praying
Vocabulary
Pronoun: somebody
Term for Deity: Lord, Jesus
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: all verses were from "Come by Here."
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lewis used 1-3-5, the vocalist used 1-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: strophic repetition followed by one improvised chorus.
Singing Style: melismatic
Instrumental Style: few displays of virtuosity
Solo-Accompaniment Dynamics: the instruments maintained the beat when the soloists were singing the melody, and played the melody when they were varying it.
Notes on Performance
Location: Nefretiti Makenta said Lewis had his own studio in his mother’s home. [2] It’s very likely he played the synthesizer and then added the saxophone part to the recording. The vocalist on the recording was not identified.
Notes on Performers
Lewis’s father, Robert Hughes, performed as Bobby Sax. Lewis remembered his group, the Housekeepers, "became a purveyor of the Motown sound. ‘He was the killer in the ’70s,’ says Lewis. ‘They were at one point the top group in this area.’ His father toured with Gaye, the Floaters, and the Jackson 5." [3]
However, Lewis told Makenta, his father wouldn’t let him play sax because he knew the dangers of a musician’s life. Instead, he had him learn the flute and piano. He didn’t have a sax until he entered Dunbar High School. [4] It had once the premier academic Black school in Washington, but Thomas Sowell said desegregation converted it into a neighborhood school. [5]
Lewis attended the historically Black Saint Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina, at a time when such schools were having a difficult time competing with integrated state schools. [6] He said when he returned to Washington he discovered "his technique was unrefined." [7]
He took a volunteer job with the National Park Service working backstage as a factotum for musicians appearing at jazz events. Some of them were willing to take a little time to help him. For instance, "Grover Washington Jr. schooled Lewis in breathing techniques and ways to improve his sound." [8]
He continued taking classes, this time at the University of the District of Columbia. [9] He usually lists himself as Derrick (Tony) Lewis to distinguish himself from others with the same name.
Availability
CD: Walking by Faith. 15 February 2009.
YouTube: uploaded by CDbaby on 21 July 2015.
End Notes
1. Nefretiti Makenta. "Saxophonal Healing." Washington City Paper website. 31 May 2000.
2. Makenta.
3. Makenta.
4. Makenta.
5. Thomas Sowell. "Dunbar High School After 100 Years." Town Hall website. 4 October 2016. Cited by Wikipedia. "Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)."
6. Wikipedia. "St. Augustine’s University (Raleigh, North Carolina)."
7. Makenta.
8. Makenta.
9. Makenta.
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