Blind Boys of Alabama “Go Tell it on the Mountain” at San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival at Herbst Theatre

More than a gospel institution, the Blind Boys of Alabama are a cultural force that has swept up musicians from every stylistic precinct, including Prince, Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Ben Harper. With five Grammy Awards (including one for lifetime achievement) and a sumptuous repertoire of soaring anthems, the group is a gospel standard bearer that has crossed over without adopting secular songs. Formed by a group of elementary students at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s, the quintet made a series of fine recordings in the post-war years that assured their place in the gospel pantheon...

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More than a gospel institution, the Blind Boys of Alabama are a cultural force that has swept up musicians from every stylistic precinct, including Prince, Willie Nelson, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Ben Harper. With five Grammy Awards (including one for lifetime achievement) and a sumptuous repertoire of soaring anthems, the group is a gospel standard bearer that has crossed over without adopting secular songs. Formed by a group of elementary students at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s, the quintet made a series of fine recordings in the post-war years that assured their place in the gospel pantheon. Refusing to jump on the soul and R&B bandwagons, the group broke through to non-gospel audiences in the early 1980s through their crucial role in the hugely successful Obie Award-winning musical, The Gospel at Colonus. The Blind Boys have become known worldwide with celebrated albums including the star-studded 2003 Christmas release, Go Tell It on the Mountain, which they revisit for this special holiday program. The Blind Boys have performed often for SFJAZZ and we can promise an evening of truly sanctified spirit!

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