Bill Cole

About

On January 22nd, 2021, my cousin died. She was 109. Her name was Margaret Chisley, and for me, this was a great loss. She had been bedridden for several years, but was still lucid and able to remember facts about my father's heritage. She was aligned with my father's generation. She remembered what her grandmother told her about being enslaved. She knew the situation when the master sold to her primary family the house in which she was still living in Alexandria, Virginia. She told me that the deed to the house was in a recipe book in the kitchen. She had numerous stories about my father and my uncles. She revered the Cole family because her mother's sister was married to my grandfather, who was the first Black detective in the history of the Pittsburgh, PA Police Department. Margaret was a secretary to a lawyer and took depositions in shorthand, while none of the other secretaries could. She was also the first Black secretary of the Education Department of Alexandria, Virginia. She would type term papers for her nieces in high school and in college. She was an incredibly skilled person. She kept all her knowledge in her head and gave it to me. 

Katie Claybourne was the niece to Margaret and her caretaker when Margaret became ill. This family is a very tight and loving one. Margaret's sister had three girls and Katie, the youngest, helped her sisters when they became ill. For the last two decades of Margaret's life, Katie was there to do whatever had to be done.

The Untempered Ensemble features Bill Cole (Asian double-reeds & didgeridoo), Joseph Daley (tuba & baritone horn), Ras Moshe-Burnette (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone & flute), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn, double-belled cornet, conch shell & mutes) Althea SullyCole (kora), Mali Obomsawin (acoustic bass), and Warren Smith (percussion). This disc was recorded live in Hanover, New Hampshire in October of 2021. The titles of all but one piece come from Yoruba proverbs.