The Zion Harmonizers Bring in the Sheaves at 75

The gospel institution celebrates its 75th year with a new album.

One of my best experiences as moderator for The Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s “Ogden After Hours” series came when interviewing The Zion Harmonizers about how they work up songs for their repertoire. I was sitting in the middle of them as they sang around me, and it was remarkable not because their voices were so special, but because of the sense of musical community in their performance. They met as musical equals unified by a shared belief, and that’s what you hear on Bringing in the Sheaves, the new album from The Zion Harmonizers. 

Bringing in the Sheaves celebrates 75 years of the group, which had become synonymous with Sherman Washington, who passed away in 2011. He was the elder statesman of the group, but he wasn’t an original member. The Zion Harmonizers formed in 1939, and Washington joined in 1942. When he died, they lost their oldest and best known member, but the institution continues.

Saturday night, they’ll host a gala at the Joy Theater commemorating 75 years, and Bringing in the Sheaves is a proper document of what they’re about. They have soul, but they’re not soul singers, nor do they do anything that is often construed as post-modern at Jazz Fest by people who aren’t gospel fans. The biggest reach on the album is the brotherhood anthem “If I Had a Hammer;” otherwise, they more or less stick to the classic songbook. Personally, I prefer the a cappella “Didn’t Hear Nobody Pray” and “Free at Last” because of the purity of their voices. The band doesn’t add enough funk, power or personality to make me value it, but it’s not off. It’s just not special. 

Similarly, the songs aren’t about individual voices or performances. Bringing in the Sheaves focuses on felt, inspired versions of gospel classics, and it delivers. It’s not an argument for The Zion Harmonizers as the great New Orleans gospel group, but it makes you glad they’ve lasted 75 years and are still going.