Matana Roberts's Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres

1. "Rise"   7:28
2. "Pov Piti"   7:41
3. "Song For Eulalie"   8:26
4. "Kersaia"   7:33
5. "Libation For Mr. Brown: Bid 'em In..."   9:48
6. "Lulla/Bye"   5:54
7. "I Am"   10:06
8. "How Much Would You Cost?"   4:19

I highly recommend this free jazz blast of Black history, beginning with Marie-Therese Metoyer, or Coin Coin, an enslaved woman in Louisiana whose progeny would include wealthy gens de coleur libres who owned the Melrose estate. Indeed, famed African-American artist, Clementine Hunter, is a descendant of slaves on the very same plantation the enslaved Coin Coin's descendants would own when her mixed-race children were recognized as free. The album fuses free jazz with traditional music, spoken word, and straight ahead jazz to allow Matana Roberts, alto saxophonist who has Louisiana roots, to tell the story of Coin Coin and slavery. Several of the song titles, lyrics, and music allude to Louisiana folk music, Louisiana Creole, and the horrors of life as a black slave in 18th and 19th century Louisiana. A conceptual suite, the album demands a full listen the entire way through, which may be a bit trying for those not interested in free jazz, Roberts's occasional screams, and spoken poetry. She also has a tendency to shift in tempos and genre within the same track, going between experimental free jazz, folk, and other genres whilst somehow pulling off the seemingly impossible fusion. 

At times Roberts uses Latin rhythms and the songs merge with similar melodies. Thus, "Rise" and "Kersaia" are very similar in melody and identical rhythmically in the first 2 minutes. Around 5 minutes into the latter, she begins to emulate New Orleans trad jazz or Carnival music, showing you the great depths to which Roberts will go to portray African-American history and culture. My favorite track may be "Libation for Mr. Brown..." which is a tribute to Oscar Brown, a lyricist who worked with Max Roach on his black civil rights album, We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite. Roberts does a cover of a song by him about a slave being sold at an auction. Here is the original, which, unfortunately, does not break out into a swing jam like Roberts's cover. The final track, "How Much Would You Cost?" makes a reference to the calenda dance, which was also popular in 18th century Haiti. It's more of a folk song with clear vocals by Roberts. She devotes the calenda to her mother, and, by extension, her family's Afro-Caribbean or Afro-Louisianan roots. Overall, an enjoyable, albeit trying, free jazz album. 

Matana Roberts has also performed the album live, which can be listened to here, here, and there. Check out Max Roach's album, too, if you're interested in more political jazz about African American history. Here is a live version of the album from German television.