On April 3, the GRAMMY-winning Kronos Quartet will release Glorious Mahalia via Smithsonian Folkways, a new album honoring the life, voice, and activism of New Orleans–born gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. The project weaves archival recordings of Jackson with newly composed music, tracing her artistry from her upbringing in New Orleans to her pivotal role in the civil rights movement.

Across three interconnected suites, Glorious Mahalia features a 1957 live performance by Jackson, a 1963 interview with broadcaster Studs Terkel, and newly recorded reflections from Clarence B. Jones, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speechwriter and lawyer. One movement includes Jackson recounting her experiences working as a nanny in her native New Orleans, offering a firsthand perspective on segregation and racial injustice that shaped both her music and her activism.

The album also revisits Jackson’s historic presence at the 1963 March on Washington, when she famously urged King to “tell them about the dream,” a moment that helped shift the course of his iconic speech. Through new compositions by Stacy Garrop, Jacob Garchik, and Zachary James Watkins, Kronos Quartet sets Jackson’s voice alongside contemporary string arrangements, underscoring the enduring relevance of her message.

Glorious Mahalia will be released April 3, 2026, on Smithsonian Folkways. A track from the album, “Glorious Mahalia: IV. Sometime I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” is available to listen to now. Learn more here.