Changing With The Times

Released in 1993 on the New World Records label, 'Changing With The Times' represents a pivotal moment in George Lewis's discography where his work with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) meets his interest in narrative and text. While Lewis is often celebrated for his 'Voyager' software and pioneering computer music, this album is remarkably human-centric. It features a stellar cast of collaborators including Mary Oliver, Peter Cusack, and Jeannie Cheatham. The centerpiece is the nearly 25-minute title track, which uses text by Lewis's father to explore Black life in mid-century America. Critically, the album is viewed as a masterwork of 'interdisciplinary jazz,' successfully merging the often disparate worlds of free improvisation, contemporary classical composition, and spoken-word performance. It stands as a testament to Lewis's ability to use the trombone as a linguistic tool, blurring the line between musical gesture and verbal communication.