Product details
- Label Strata-East
- Artist Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 1974
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed No
- Media Condition Very Good (VG)
- Sleeve Condition Very Good (VG)
Do you have questions about this product?
Condition: Used
Media Condition: Very Good (VG) (Light scuffs throughout the record, nothing that can be felt, expect some noise)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good (VG) (General wear expected for black cover)
Winter In America by Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson.
Recorded across three days in the autumn of 1973, on September 4, 5 and October 15 at D&B Sound in Silver Springs, Maryland, "Winter In America" captures Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson at a moment of extraordinary creative partnership. This is a record that moves fluidly between poetry, protest, and tenderness, framed by two men who trade off electric piano and vocals as if they were finishing each other's thoughts.
The album opens and closes with "Peace Go With You, Brother," bookending the set with a greeting and its answer: the As-Salaam-Alaikum on side A, the Wa-Alaikum-Salaam on side B. In between sits some of the most enduring work in the Scott-Heron and Jackson catalog. "The Bottle" anchors side B, a piece whose groove and social conscience have made it a touchstone, while "H2Ogate Blues" carries the political sting the duo were known for, delivered with wit as sharp as its melody.
For all the fire, "Winter In America" is also deeply intimate. "Rivers Of My Fathers" and "A Very Precious Time" open a reflective, searching space on side A, and "Your Daddy Loves You" and "Song For Bobby Smith" bring warmth and personal devotion to the record's second half. Brian Jackson's acoustic piano and Fender electric piano give these songs their glow, while Gil Scott-Heron's voice carries them between the personal and the universal.
The playing throughout is lean and purposeful. Danny Bowens lays down the Fender bass, Bob Adams handles the drums, and Jackson and Scott-Heron fill out the harmonic and rhythmic core on electric piano, with Jackson also moving to acoustic piano. Jose Williams served as engineer and lent production assistance, with the record produced by Perpis-Fall Music, Inc. All compositions were published by Brouhaha Music Inc. under ASCAP.
The package itself is a work of care. Eugene Coles painted the cover, Peggy Harris contributed the liner collage, and liner photography came from Gary Price and Tony Cerrante. Scott-Heron and Jackson both wrote liner notes, including Jackson's now well-known meditation on trees: "Look at trees, they don't bother nobody. Let folks burn 'em, cut 'em, paint 'em and use 'em but they don't bother nobody… That is, till money… But like, whose fault is that?"
More than half a century on, "Winter In America" remains a defining statement of jazz-rooted, socially conscious songcraft, a record where politics and intimacy share the same breath. For collectors of Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson, and the broader story of Black American music in the 1970s, it belongs in the crate.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. Peace Go With You, Brother (As-Salaam-Alaikum)
A2. Rivers Of My Fathers
A3. A Very Precious Time
A4. Back Home
B1. The Bottle
B2. Song For Bobby Smith
B3. Your Daddy Loves You
B4. H2Ogate Blues
B5. Peace Go With You Brother (Wa-Alaikum-Salaam)
Credits:
Peggy Harris (2) - Artwork [Liner Collage]
Danny Bowens - Bass [Fender]
Charisma Productions - Booking
Bob Adams - Drums [Traps]
Brian Jackson - Electric Piano, Piano [Acoustic], Vocals
Gil Scott-Heron - Electric Piano, Vocals
Jose Williams - Engineer, Producer [Production Assistance]
Brian Jackson - Liner Notes
Gil Scott-Heron - Liner Notes
Dan Henderson (2) - Management
Eugene Coles - Painting [Cover]
Gary Price - Photography By [Liner Photos]
Tony Cerrante - Photography By [Liner Photos]
Perpis-Fall Music, Inc. - Producer
Notes:
All compositions published by Brouhaha Music Inc. (ASCAP)
Recorded on September 4, 5 and October 15, 1973 at D&B Sound, Silver Springs, Maryland
Produced by Perpis-Fall Music, Inc.
"Look at trees,
they don't bother nobody.
Let folks burn 'em, cut 'em,
paint 'em and use 'em
but they don't bother nobody…
That is, till money…
But like, whose fault is that?"
B.Jackson
Artist: Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: Strata-East
Catalog Number: SES-19742
Release Year: 1974
Country: United States
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