Tom Teasley (All Percussion/Melodica and Rav Drum)
Charles Williams (Vocals)

This encounter between world music percussionist Tom Teasley and longtime collaborator Charles Williams is a profoundly moving tribute to the gregarious griot who joined the ancestors shortly after these intimate recordings 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,” then reciting “African Proverbs,” the traditional Cherokee “Tale of the Two Wolves” and Hughes’ jivey “Motto.” The result is a set of music that communicates with uncanny gravity while going straight to the heart.

— Bill Milkowski, July 15, 2024