sorry 'A Customer - June 2, 1999' but that song was written by Philadelphian Fred Lacey, in memory of NY alto saxophonist Ernest Albert Henry, who died aged 31 on December 29, 1957. This beautiful ballad has been recorded many times by jazz artists, e.g. John Coltrane's version on his February 1958 Soultrane session.
as already mentioned above, there is a lot of demanding music on Mama Too Tight, perhaps not the best Archie Shepp for beginners -- try Four for Trane or Fire Music first. Duke Ellington's "Prelude To A Kiss" is beautifully interpolated during a portion of track 1, though.
Shepp's octet group recorded here is unsurpassed, with Howard Johnson (of Taj Mahal fame) on tuba, trumpeter Tommy Turrentine (Stanley's brother), the dual trombonists Grachan Moncur III and Roswell Rudd (check out his own Impulse album Everywhere, available domestically on the Mixed CD -- one of the greatest free-jazz sessions of all time, including the Haden/Harris rhythm team), clarinetist Perry Robinson and a rock-solid rhythm section of Charlie Haden, bass and Beaver Harris, drums.
Mr. Shepp's own liner notes acknowledge the album to be "at once a tribute to a woman of paramount virtue and [RE: tracks 1, 3, and 4] an eulogy for others. (Ernie Henry, Robert Thompson, and Basheer were three Black artists who passed away at painfully abortive ages.)"