By Sam Devine
Marcus Shelby kept things light on Friday the 13th at Jazz at Pearl’s, even though his band performed politically charged music including pieces from his new album, Harriet Tubman (Noir).
While the two new compositions were saved for the end of the evening, the entire night was emotionally charged, laced with spiritual and political ideas.
The first song, “The Leopard,” was inspired by Quaker artist Edward Hicks’ painting The Peaceable Kingdom, wherein the lion lays down with the lamb.