I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow Blitzen Trapper

When two workers were killed by a malfunctioning garbage truck in Memphis in 1968, the flames of activism were rightly stoked. Sanitation workers fed up with poor working conditions and abuse of power poured into the streets wielding "I Am A Man" signs, making a principled stand that spoke not only to the situation at hand, but also to a broader struggle connected to the civil rights movement. That incident remains clearly fixed in cornetist Ron Miles' mind, standing out both for its place in history and for what the statement on those signs represents.

The civil rights movement was first and foremost a struggle for racial equality, but questions of gender lay deeply embedded within this struggle. Steve Estes explores key groups, leaders, and events in the movement to understand how activists used race and manhood to articulate their visions of what American society should be.

Harriet Tubman is a trio dedicated to a thunderously heavy fusion. Guitarist Brandon Ross keeps melody ever present in this group. You have heard his fretwork in such varied jazz projects as Henry Threadgill, The Lounge Lizards, and Cassandra Wilson while he has invaded pop to work with Jewel and Arrested Development.