Willie Pickens
JazzSpirit Volume 2
Sacred music in a jazz setting by pianist Willie Pickens

Buy JazzSpirit Volume 2 for $15 now!



1. Fairest Lord Jesus 6:49
2. O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High 7:13
3. Down by the Riverside 8:04
4. O Lord You Are My God and King 5:15
5. We Are Marching in the Light of God 6:32
6. Wade in the Water 5:31
7. God of Grace and God of Glory 5:25
8. When Peace Like a River 5:09
9. Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service 7:59
10. My God Is So High 2:53

Total Time - VOLUME 2 - 60:49

Featuring: Rob Amster, Ari Brown, Tito Carrillo, Larry Gray, Pat Mallinger, Bethany Pickens, Marlene Rosenberg, Robert Shy, Kobie Watkins

In JazzSpirit I and II, Willie Pickens takes European canonical hymns, American gospel music, and African-American Spirituals, which have become “church” and puts them into the wonderfully strange and compelling vernacular of jazz. Mr. Pickens uses the phenomenal range and power of jazz to magnify the unfathomable breadth and length and height and depth of the Divine.

In Mr. Pickens’ own words:
“I knew that I wanted to present this sacred music while maintaining the intent of the composer, rather than trying to force it into a jazz setting. The music had to speak for itself so my arrangements were conceived first, and then I matched the musicians to showcase their creative strengths...At the end of each recording session, all of my expectations were far exceeded.”

Lloyd Sachs, music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, writes:
"Pickens' joyful devotion to religion is matched by his joyful belief in the higher power of improvisation...his originality and winning personality shine forth."