6 Gil ScottHeron

Free Will FLYING DUTCHMAN, 1972

You say: “The first Gil album I heard and its messages still resonate strongly today.” Sunny Jones, via e-mail

Bringing his early years period to a close, this third and final Flying Dutchman outing captures the two sides of ScottHeron. On side one he’s simpatico with Jackson and a full band including flautist Hubert Laws, guitarist David Spinozza and drummer Pretty Purdie playing pensive soul-jazz; Did You Hear What They Said? is a moving evocation on Vietnam that aligns him to the great war poets, The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues views slum living through a psychological lens. Side two, meanwhile, sets Gil’s spoken word against percussion and occasional flute as he takes aim at police policy (No Knock) and celebrates John Coltrane (…And Then He Wrote Meditations).