Oliver Nelson

Originally released in 1970, “Black, Brown and Beautiful” saw legendary composer and arranger Oliver Nelson musically address the state of black America in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Tracks like ‘Requiem’, ‘Lamb Of God’ and ‘Martin Was A Man, A Real Man’ directly address the passing of King, whereas ‘Self Help Is Needed’ and ‘I Hope In Time A Change Will Come’ orchestrally and passionately ask questions that still remain unanswered today. Indeed, Nelson, writing about the track ‘Self Help Is Needed’ stated “I have always felt that the Federal Government wasn’t going to do a damn thing and American Blacks were going to have to do it themselves. However, you can’t have a foot on your neck making it impossible for you to help yourself. That seems logical – doesn’t it?” Sadly, those words still hold true today.