Written for director Spike Lee's 2006 Documentary "When The Levees Broke," A Tale Of God's Will (Requiem For Katrina), (hereafter known as RFK) is sorrowful, enraging, thought provoking, hopeful and above all, thoroughly professional. Arranged, performed and co-written by Terence Blanchard, RFK is an incredibly poignant tribute to an unnecessary tragedy. Blanchard and his impeccable quintet eschew the bitterness for a wider range of emotions, and it's all the more powerful when you understand that Blanchard was born and raised in New Orleans.
A work of considerable power, RFK requires several listens to comprehend fully. With songs and arrangements inspired by Blanchard's witnessing dead bodies in his former neighborhood on television, and his mother's first view of her wrecked house upon her return, RFK can be grim, but it never wallows.
World-renowned as a trumpeter, composer and arranger, Blanchard utilizes his skills to the hilt. You can feel tension of the approaching storm in the strings on "Levees." In "The Water," Blanchard's baleful trumpet feels like someone crying for a lost relative. "Funeral Dirge" makes you feel part of the procession. "Dear Mom" is an affecting tribute to Blanchard's mother who lost her home. "Ghost of Betsy" and "Ghost Of 1927" are solemn, arranged with regret as they refer to previous floods and hurricanes suffered by The Crescent City, from which nothing was learned.
In addition to melancholy, there is also plenty of rage in RFK; as with life itself, there's also hope in "Mantra" and "Over There."
Be prepared for a moving experience with RFK; it's a lot to take in at once, but handled with supreme dignity.
Track Listing
1. Ghost Of Congo Square 3:01
2. Levees 8:07
3. Wading Through 6:27
4. Ashé 8:18
5. In Time Of Need 7:53
6. Ghost Of Betsy 1:58
7. The Water 4:07
8. Mantra Intro 3:22
9. Mantra 9:49
10. Over There 7:43
11. Ghost Of 1927 1:38
12. Funeral Dirge 5:51
13. Dear Mom
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