Gospel music has always spread the Good News, and in New Orleans, no group has carried the message as long as the Zion Harmonizers. This year, the group is celebrating its 75th anniversary at The Joy Theater and will sing selections from the new album, Bringing In the Sheaves. Dedicated to longtime leader Sherman Washington, who died in 2011, Bringing In The Sheaves is the first Zion Harmonizers recording in 15 years. The Zion Harmonizers began as “New Zion” in 1939. Washington added his voice in 1941. Over the next seven decades, Washington expanded the Zion Harmonizers' reach well beyond New Orleans. He was the longtime host of WYLD's weekly gospel show. He took the group on tour overseas. And Washington presided over the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival from its very beginning in 1970 until shortly before his death. Brazella Briscoe, who has led the Zion Harmonizers since 2007, is planning a tour to coincide with the release of the new album. Bringing in the Sheaves was recorded live at Marigny Recording Studio, located in the historic Luthjen’s Dance Hall. Produced by Jason Rhein (American Routes, Music Inside Out) and Briscoe, the album features Brazella's brother, William Briscoe, Franklin Smith, Marion Chambers, Benjamin Francois and Luther G. Williams on vocals, backed by drummer Joseph Carter, guitarist William Walker, keyboardist Joseph Warrick, and Walter Hardy III on the B3 organ. An excellent horn section adds New Orleans flavor with arrangements by the great trumpeter Wendell Brunious. He performs along with trumpeter Andre Ride and Christian Winther on tenor saxophone. The Zion Harmonizers sing traditional gospel, quartet style. Their four-part harmonies can best be heard a capella, in numbers such as "Free at Last" and "Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray." This album also features fantastic arrangements of "Down By The Riverside" and "Bringing In The Sheaves," as well as Pete Seeger’s "If I Had A Hammer" and "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield.