New World Generation

New World Generation operated as a cult New England ensemble directed by composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Lekan Parsons. The group’s lone output appeared in 1982 as a privately pressed, self-titled five-song EP that recalled earlier R&B styles. Comparisons to the Roy Ayers-produced RAMP album Come Into Knowledge and to mid-’70s cosmic-soul releases by Earth Wind & Fire hold true. After playing regional gigs, the band disbanded without notice. In the early 21st century Phil Morrison, bassist for the jazz ensemble Stark Reality, forwarded the NWG EP to labelheads at Stones Throw’s Now-Again imprint. The label reached Parsons, who explained that he had produced abundant material in the years before New World Generation. He devoted several years to examining masters from other New York and Boston projects, including those by Universal Rhythms and Orison. Because the recordings displayed high quality and shared thematic and stylistic traits with New World Generation’s music, Now-Again issued the material as the double-disc New World Generation Anthology in late 2011.