Discography

This list is a work in progress! If you know of other recordings we should add, please let us know at editor@musicbyblackcomposers.org

  Compilations of multiple composers:

• African Heritage Symphonic Series – Vol. I (2000), Paul Freeman (conductor), Chicago Sinfonietta, Cedille Records 
  • • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Fela Sowande, William Grant Still
• African Heritage Symphonic Series – Vol. II (2001), Paul Freeman (conductor), Chicago Sinfonietta, Cedille Records
  • • Roque Cordero, Adolphus Hailstork, Ulysses Kay, Hale Smith, George Walker
• African Heritage Symphonic Series – Vol. III (2002), Paul Freeman (conductor), Chicago Sinfonietta, Cedille Records
  • • Michael Abels, David Baker, William Banfield, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
• Ain’t A That Good News: African-American Art Songs and Spirituals (1998), Richard Heard (tenor), Pamela Howland (piano)
• American Voices: The African-American Composers’ Project (2006), Alan Balter (conductor), Akron Symphony Orchestra, Telarc
  • • Billy Childs, David Baker, William Banfield
• Black Composers Series: The Complete Album Collection (10-disc box set) (2019), Paul Freeman (conductor), Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard String Quartet, Sony Classical
  • • Thomas J. Anderson, David Baker, Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Roque Cordero, Talib Rasul Hakim, Ulysses Kay, José Maurício Nunes Garcia, Hale Smith, Fela Sowande, William Grant Still, George Walker, Joseph (José) White, Olly Wilson
• Black Diamonds: Piano Music by African-American Composers (1993), Althea Waits (piano), Cambria
  • • Ed Bland, Margaret Bonds, Florence Price, Williiam Grant Still
• Blues Dialogues: Music by Black Composers (2018), Rachel Barton Pine (violin), Matthew Hagle (piano), Cedille Records
  • • David Baker, Charles Brown, Billy Childs, Noel Da Costa, Duke Ellington, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Daniel Bernard Roumain, William Grant Still, Errollyn Wallen, Clarence Cameron White, Dolores White
• In My Own Voice: Music for Violin (2011), Kelly Hall-Tompkins (violin), Craig Ketter (piano), Anna Reinersman (harp), MSR Classics
  • • David Baker, William Grant Still
• Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women (2002), Gregory Walker (violin), Helen Walker-Hill (piano), Leonarda Productions
  • • Lettie Beckon Alston, Regina Baiocchi, Margaret Bonds, Valerie Capers, Rachel Eubanks, Nora Douglas Holt, Betty Jackson King, Lena McLin, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Julia Perry, Florence Price, Irene Britton Smith, Dolores White
• Katrina Relief, Lucius R. Weathersby (organ)
  • • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Undine Smith Moore, Florence Price, Eric Sawyer, Fela Sowande, William Grant Still, Lucius R. Weathersby
• Kete: Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora (2020), William Chapman Nyaho (piano), MSR Classics
  • • Laurindo Almeida, R. Nathaniel Dett, Wallace Cheatham, Halim El-Dabh, Akin Euba, Robert Kwami, Nkeiru Okoye, Florence Price, Isak Roux
• Legacy: Violin Music of African-American Composers (2011), Tami Lee Hughes (violin), Ellen Bottorff (piano), Albany Records
  • • David Baker, Ozie Carlisle, Chad Hughes, Francis Johnson, George Morrison
• Lil’ Lit O’ Mine: Flute Music by Composers of African Descent (2015), Laurel Zucker (flute), John Cozza (piano), Cantilena
  • • Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Leo Brouwer, Adolphus Hailstork, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Julio Racine, Hale Smith, William Grant Still
• Music for Cello and Piano by African-American Composers (2004/6), Anthony Elliott (cell0), Toni-Marie Montgomery (piano), CD Baby
  • • David Baker, Lawrence Brown, Noel Da Costa, Augustus O. Hill, Chad E. Hughes, Howard Swanson
• The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Other Art Songs by African American Composers (2000), Odekhiren Amaize (baritone), David Korevaar (piano), MSR Classics
  • • Leslie Adams, Margaret Bonds, Charles Brown, Cecil Cohen, Undine Moore, Robert Owens, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Howard Swanson, George Walker, John W. Work, Jr.
• Piano Music by African American Composers (1993), Natalie Hinderas (piano), Composers Recordings, Inc.
  • • Arthur Cunningham, R. Nathaniel Dett, Talib Rasul Hakim, Thomas Kerr, Hale Smith, William Grant Still, George Walker, Olly Wilson, John Wesley Work, Jr.
• Sampling of Organ Music of Black Composers (1992), cassette and booklet available from the American Guild of Organists’ Educational Resources
  • • details unavailable at this time
• Sankofa: A Spiritual Reflection (2020), Oral Moses (bass-baritone), Ann Sears (piano), George Bailey (piano), Rosalyn Floyd (piano), Timothy Holley (cello), Albany Records
  • • Uzee Brown, Jr.; Harry T. Burleigh; Roland Hayes; Hall Johnson; Charles Lloyd, Jr.; Robert Owens; Undine Smith-Moore; William Grant Still; John W. Work, III
• Songs for the Soul: Chamber Music by African American Composers (2010), Mallarmé Chamber Players, Nnenna Freelon (vocals), Albany Records
  • • T.J. Anderson, William Banfield, Anthony Kelley, Undine Moore
• Spiritual Fantasy (2006), Lucius Weathersby (organ), Albany Records
  • • Violet Bowers, Uzee Brown, Jr., Wallace Chetham, Kevin George, William Grant Still, Lucius Weathersby
• Tanbou Kache (2020), Diana Golden (cello), Shawn Chang (piano), New Focus Recordings
  • • Carmen Brouard, Frantz Casséus, Justin Élie, Werner Jaegerhuber, Jean “Rudy” Perrault, Julio Racine, Daniel Bernard Roumain
• Videmus: Works by Anderson, Baker, Fox, and Wilson (1992), Videmus, New World Records
  • • T.J. Anderson, David Baker, Donal Fox, Olly Wilson
• Violin Concertos by Black Composers of the 18^th and 19^th Centuries (1997), Rachel Barton Pine (violin), Daniel Hege (conductor), Encore Chamber Orchestra, Cedille Records
  • • Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Joseph (José) White

 

  Single composers:

• Michael Abels
  • • Get Out (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2017), Waxwork Records
    • Us (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2019), Blacklot Music
• Eleanor Alberga
  • • Alberga: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2, & 3 (2019), Ensemble Arcadiana, Navona
• David Baker
  • • Basically Baker, vol. 1 (2017), Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Patois
    • Basically Baker, vol. 2 (2016), Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Patois
    • David Baker’s 21st Century Bebop Band (2010), David Baker (cello), Harvey Phillips (tuba), Hunt Butler (tenor saxophone), David Kay (saxophone), Pat Harbison (trumpet), Jim Beard (piano), Kurt Bahn and Bob Hurst (bass), Shawn Pelton and Keith Cronin (drums), Laurel Records
    • David Baker at Bay Chamber Concerts (2002), James Campbell and Ensemble, Cala Records
    • David Baker: Singers of Songs (2014), Manuel Fischer-Dieskau (cell0), Guy Frisch (percussion), Connie Shih (piano), Monika Herzig (jazz piano), Pavel Klimashevsky (bass), Dieter Schumacher (drums), Md&g (Dabringhaus & Grimm)
    • Paul Freeman Introduces David M. Baker (2000), Paul Freeman (conductor), William Brown (tenor), Daniel Perantoni (tuba), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Albany Records
    • Starker Plays Baker (1996), Janos Starker (cell0), George Gaber (percussion), Alain Planès (piano), Laurel Records
• Basile Bares
  • • Music of Basile Barès (2007), Peter Collins (piano), Centaur Records
• Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
  • • Le Mozart Noir (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2003), Jeanne Lamon (conductor), Tafelmusik Orchestra, Alliance
    • Le Mozart Noir (DVD and CD) (2017), Jeanne Lamon (conductor), Tafelmusik Orchestra, Tafelmusik Media
    • Monsieur de Saint-George, le nègre des Lumières: Quatre Concertos pour Violon (2007), Hana Kotkova (violin), Hsansd Liviabella (violin), Anthony Flint (violin), Tamas Major (violin), Orchestra di la Svizzera Italiana, Forlane
    • Violin Concertos (2001), Takako Nishizaki (violin), Helmut Müller-Brühl (conductor), Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Naxos
    • Violin Concertos Vol. 2 (2004), Qian Zhou (violin), Kevin Mallon (conductor), Toronto Camerata, Naxos
• Margaret Bonds
  • • Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs (2019), The Dessoff Choirs & Orchestra, Malcolm J. Merriweather (conductor), Ashley Jackson (harp), Avie
• Harry Burleigh
  • • Art Songs of Harry T. Burleigh (1996), Regina McConnell (soprano), Michael Cordovana (piano), Centaur
    • Deep River: Songs and Spirituals of Harry Burleigh (1995), Oral Moses (bass-baritone) Ann Sears (piano), Classical Arts/Northeastern
    • Nobody Knows: Songs of Harry T. Burleigh (2007), Karen Parks (soprano), CD Baby
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
  • • 24 Negro Melodies (2006), Frances Walker (piano), Marquis Music
    • Chamber Music (1999), Coleridge Ensemble, Afka
    • Clarinet Quintet (1995), Harold Wright (clarinet), Virginia Eskin (piano), Hawthorne String Quartet, Michael Ludwig (violin), Koch International Classics
    • Hiawatha Overture, Op. 30 / Petite Suite de Concert, Op. 77 / 4 Characteristic Waltzes, Op. 22 / Gipsy Suite, Op,. 20 / Romance of the Prairie Lilies, Op. 39 / Othello Suite, Op. 79 (1995), Adrian Leaper (conductor), RTE Concert Orchestra Dublin, Marco Polo
    • Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, The Bamboula (1984), Kenneth Alwyn (conductor), Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, EMI Eminence
    • Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, Othello Suite, Petite Suite de Concerts, Four Characteristic Values (2013), Richard Lewis (tenor), Sir Malcom Sargent (conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra, Heritage
    • Undiscovered Piano Works (2013), Waka Hasegawa (piano), Metropolis
    • Violin Sonata, African Dances, Hiawathan Sketches, Petite Suite de Concert (2003), David Juriitz (violin), Michael Dussek (piano), Dutton Labs UK
• Nathaniel Dett
  • • An Indigo Christmas (2003), The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor (artistic-director), Jackie Richardson, Joe Sealy, Kwanza, Kenneth & Nation (guest artists), Marquis Music
    • Listen to the Lambs: The Music of Nathaniel Dett (2003), The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor (artistic director), Marquis Music
    • My Cup Runneth Over: The Complete Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett (2015), Clipper Erickson (piano), Navona
    • The Ordering of Moses (2016), May Festival Chorus, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, James Conlon (conductor), Bridge
    • Piano Works (1992), Denver Oldham (piano), New World Records
• Adolphus Hailstork
  • • Amazing Grace: Organ Music of Adolphus Hailstork (2006), James Kosnik (organ), Albany Records
• Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
  • • Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: A Celebration (2005), Sanford Allen (conductor), Chicago Sinfonietta, New Black Repertory Ensemble Quartet, Sanford Allen (violin), Tahira Whittington (cello), Ashley Horne (violin), Jesse Levine (viola), Carter Brey (cello), Cedille Records
• Florence Price
  • • Chicago Renaissance Woman: Florence B. Price Organ Works (1997) (currently unavailable), Calvert Johnson (organ), Calcante Recordings
    • Florence Price: Violin Concertos (2018), Er-Gene Kahng (violin), Ryan Cockerham (conductor), Janaček Philharmonic, Albany Records
    • Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 (2021), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon
• William Grant Still
  • • Still: Summerland (1994), New Zealand String Quartet, Alexa Still (flute), Susan DeWitt Smith (piano), Koch International Classics
    • Witness Volume II: William Grant Still (1996); Philip Brunelle (conductor); The Ensemble Singers, Chorus, and Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota; Collins Classics
    • Works by William Grant Still (1990), Videmus, New World Records
• Calvin Taylor
  • • Organ Extraordinaire (2009), Calvin Taylor (organ), Chapel Music
• George Walker
  • • George Walker (2007), various artists, Albany Records
    • George Walker: A Portrait (1994), various artists, Albany Records
    • George Walker: Chamber Music and Songs (2010), various artists, Naxos American Classics
    • George Walker: Composer Pianist (2007), various artists, Albany Records
    • Great American Chamber Music: George Walker (2008), various artists, Albany Records
    • Great American Orchestral Works Vol. 3: George Walker (2012), Sinfonia da Camera, Sinfonia Varsovia, Ian Hobson (conductor), Albany Records
    • Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra: The Music of George Walker (2000), Summit

 

Check out our links to podcasts and radio programs about Black composers and Black classical music making! »