Cover of the album being discussed
Mission Rebel No. 1: Looking for Rev. Jesse James is an album released a little over a month ago by guitarist David James. The album is named after the composer’s father, who is presumably illustrated by the portrait on the album cover. Jesse was one of the founders of Mission Rebels in Action, a youth empowerment and employment organization formed in 1965 to serve the primarily Brown and Black youth of the Mission District of San Francisco. David’s suite was inspired by a film about Mission Rebels in Action made by his father.
The suite consists of twelve movements. Fortunately, these are enumerated (with brief descriptions) on the Web page that Bandcamp created for this album. James leads a septet with a “front line” of clarinet (Beth Custer), trombone (Alan Williams), and viola (Keith Lawrence), all whom also provide vocals. Rhythm is provided by Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and drummer John Hanes, as well as James on guitar, also provides vocals. There are also two vocalists that do not also a play an instrument: Allegra Brady and Sòlás Burke-Lalgee. Jesse James also makes an “appearance” on the track “to you people who represent labor, I’m asking you ….”
Back in May of 2024, I took on the issue of “delivering a message.” As a rule, I continue to subscribe to the adage, “If I want to deliver a message, I’ll call Western Union!” The virtue of this particular album is that the message does not try to overwhelm the music. Instead, the message is limited to “key principles” associated with their respective tracks; and the music sets the context for dispositions behind those principles. As a result, Mission Rebel No. 1 emerges as a sort of “chamber oratorio” in which the music and the message engage in a partnership, rather than a competition!
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