Nine Lives Project

Nine Lives is a work composed by jazz saxophonist Christopher Coles in memory of the nine victims of the 2015 Charleston Church Shooting. With support from private donations, the Knight Foundation, PEGs Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Kent State University, and the Ohio Arts Council, Nine Lives was expanded into a 45 minute work that will build upon the story of the Charleston shooting to examine broader societal problems through different art forms: animation, spoken word, dance and instrumental music. The music features different genres of African American music such as Blues, Gospel, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. Nine Lives was written in
conjunction with trombonist Sam Blakeslee, animator Hannah Taddeo, choreographer/dancer Dominic Moore-Dunson, Orlando Watson, and emcee Jul Big Green. Through their art, the team of collaborators will explore the fear that drove the shooter to act as he did; how mob mentality affects racial awareness in this country; and most importantly, how constant self-examination and empathy can bring about positive transformation. Each sale of the Nine Lives CD will be donated to The DREAMS Academy in Akron, Ohio and the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation in Charleston, South Carolina

Liner Notes

In retrospect, the need for a project like this (a large-scale artistic memorial in the wake of the Emanuel AME massacre) seems self-obvious. I’ll note that, at the time Professor Chris Coles conceived it, it did not, and that is part of the problem and the urgency we hear Coles translate into sound. This piece addresses a gap left by the tragic carelessness with which local and federal governments, media, and large swaths of the public treated these nine lives.

Rather than dwelling on the horror, The Nine Lives Project expresses abundant life, audacious joy, and collective power. Coles selected his team with nuance; the ensemble’s cumulative chops and his own brilliance as a composer and instrumentalist propel the work without ego. Professor Coles in his modesty won’t claim it, but he deserves full credit for this vision, the joy the participants felt in making it, and its impact.

Photo by Mara Rubin

In movement I, ‘400 Years (And I Still Have Joy In My Soul),’ the ensemble celebrates, dances, affirms, chants, and soars, Sam Blakeslee’s trombone solo supporting the ensemble. Accompanied by Hannah Taddeo’s heartfelt animations, movement II, ‘Nine Lives,’ takes a more reflective tone, addressing the events of June 17, 2015 narratively with harmonic nods to the church by Theron Brown on piano/keys and a celebratory-yet-ominous alto sax solo by Bobby Selvaggio. Suspense builds and time ceases during Brown’s atonal full-range clusters, a moment of cognitive dissonance in which the celebratory vision fails to reconcile with reality. Blurts and cries by the ensemble and Zaire Darden’s ‘shots’ on the drums conclude the movement.

Movement III, ‘In Spite Of You We Rise,’ drives forward, defiant. The ensemble is joined by members of Elevated Hip Hop Dance Group and Kent State University Dance Ensemble members executing Gregory King’s commanding and tear-jerking choreography (The World Premiere Performance in 2019 at The Rubber CIty Jazz and Blues Festival in 2019); Electronic effects and Emily Laycock’s floating vocals mirror the fuzziness of traumatic memory and try to make sense out of that which cannot be made sensible. Tommy Lehman’s trumpet and Darden’s drums lend a marching determination. Movement IV, ‘New Birth,’ features emcee Jul Big Green and spoken word artist Orlando Watson enjoining listeners to take responsibility for ending white supremacy and violence against Black people once and for all, while simultaneously rejoicing in life and its achievements. Chris Anderson on trombone, Sean Jones on trumpet, and Laycock on vocals lay fiercely into this track.

The Nine Lives Project draws on Coles’ extensive knowledge of multiple musical traditions and performance media, and it continues a great creative tradition of resilience, a resilience which should never have had to exist but which nonetheless galvanizes and pushes us all forward. Most of all it’s about living! Remember that! - Molly Jones

Release Date

March 5, 2023

Credits

Alto Saxophone: Bobby Selvaggio
Tenor Saxophone: Chris Coles
Baritone Saxophone: Molly Jones
Trumpet: Tommy Lehman, Sean Jones**
Voice: Emily Laycock
Trombone: Chris Anderson, Sam Blakeslee*
Piano/Keyboard: Theron Brown
Drums: Zaire Darden
Percussion: Anthony Taddeo*
Bass: David Morgan
Spoken Word: Orlando Watson**
Emcee: Jul Big Green**

All compositions are written by Chris Coles except lyrics for New Birth. New Birth Lyrics are written by: Jul Big Green and Orlando Watson

*=Appears on 400 Years
**= Appears on New Birth

Recorded by Jim Stewart at The Gill and Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts Recording And Technology Studio in Cleveland, Ohio
Mastered by: Adam Boose
Produced by: Sean Jones, Chris Coles
Album Art by: Hannah Taddeo

Special Thanks To

Danielle Hupp
Rhonda Kadish
Kathleen Blakeslee
Philip Anderson
Mark Preston
Jim Cirillo
Dustin May
Marcia Coles
Amber Dimoff
Deborah Forfia
Aurora School of Music
Thirsty Dog Brewing
Blu Jazz
Matt Segall
Donald Volenik
Lucas Kadish
Ellen Banks
Ann Knuth
Joseph Scheller

Brad Wagner
Scott and Emily Garlock
Evan Hertrick
Eli Hanley
Amanda Smith
Tri-C Recording Arts
Sarah E. Heid
Anthony Taddeo
Mim Plevin-Foust
Robert Jenkins
Anthony Calascibetta
Emily Laycock
Kristine Eggert
Ryan Critchfield
Noa Even
Alberto Martir
Nancy Kehrle
God Before Guns, Inc.
Hannah Florian