4. gbogbo omo ile – solomon ilore and his afro drum ensemble
i’ve always been a fan of the blue note records releases. and this track is lifeted from the blue note re-release of solomon ilori’s african high life album. it features trumpet solo from another blue note artists (and a favourite of the buddha’s) – donald byrd.
5. djemeregne – imperial tiger orchestra
these swiss guys tore it up at PASS live. john menoud blew away with his mastery on the saxophone registering near impossible blips and bleeps (at least thats what i think) and the antics of percussionist luc detraz was quite the spectacle
7. taurus woman – carlos garnett
coltrane influenced Panamanian saxophonist carlos garnett has appeared alongside jazz luminaries herbie hancock, art blakey’s jazz messengers, norman connors, charles mingus and miles davis; leaving his mark in each of these musicians’ bands.this track is off one of his first solo albums – a classic soul jazz outing called black love – featuring artists Buster Williams, Norman Connors, Charles Sullivan, Mauricio Smith, Reggie Lucas, Billy Hart, Mtume, and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
9. solifer lento – dalindeo
a turn for the scandinavians – finnish jazz outfit dalindeo get into some latin jazz groove. in their words “the intention of the group is to keep the original jazz spirit alive with heavy emphasis on danceable rhytms, strong melodies and the craftmanship of top musicians.”
10. the blessing song – shirley eubanks ensemble
a latin jazz dance take on michael white’s blessing song. this one’s seen many a dancefloor getting down…
11. ghana spice part 1 & 2 – candido
often refered to as the man with a thousand fingers. Havanna native Candido is now well into his eighties and shows no sign of retirement – having notched up performances with Lena Horne, Billy Taylor, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Elvin Jones, George Shearing, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Woody Herman, Doc Severinson, Marian McPartland, Lalo Schifrin. Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Charlie Parker, and Antonio Carlos Jobim in his long career
12. the little rasti – donald byrd
from the album ethiopian knights recorded after donald byrd’s trip to africa, where he explored african musical systems (??), and infused them in this recording
13. dr mganga – eddie henderson
a spacey jazz funk track led by trumpeter eddie henderson – reminiscent of headhunters – patrice rushen on electric piano and synths….
ok, before the jazz funk, we have the black metropolis suite from trumpeter malachi thompson and africa brass
1. black metropolis
2. the panther
3. jazz revelations
4. genesis/rebirth
gary bartz (ok another blue note artist – the indulgence doesn’t end) features on alto and soprano sax; billy harper on tenor sax; david spencer, kenny anderson, micah frazier, elmer brown all feature on trumpet and featuring variously on trombone tracy dirk, steve berry, bill macfarland and omar jefferson
a bit about malachi thompson:
“Malachi Thompson moved to Chicago as a child and credited his interest in the trumpet to hearing Count Basie’s band at the Regal Theatre when he was 11 years old. Thompson worked in the rhythm and blues scene on Chicago’s South Side as a teen. In 1968, he joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), spending some time in the AACM big band.[1] Thompson performed and toured with the Operation Breadbasket Big Band, which was affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[2]
Thompson worked with saxophonists Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Frank Foster, and Archie Shepp among other musicians while living in New York City. He formed his Freebop band in 1978, and eventually relocated to Washington, D.C. Thompson also worked with Lester Bowie’s Hot Trumpets Repertory Company and formed Africa Brass, a group inspired by traditional New Orleans brass bands. [3]
Thompson graduated from Governor’s State University in 1974 with a degree in music composition.
With a goal of preserving the Sutherland Theater on Chicago’s South Side, Thompson founded the Sutherland Community Arts Initiative, a non-profit corporation, in 1991. He also wrote incidental music for a play about the theater.[4]
Informed in 1989 that he suffered from T-cell lymphoma and had one year to live, Thompson claimed he was healed by radiation and reading about jazz. He died in Chicago, Illinois from a relapse of his cancer in 2006.”
on stage live is khoi khonnexion; described on arayan kaganof’s blog:
“Khoi Khonnexion (Jethro Louw – poetry, Glen Arendse and Garth Erasmus – indigenous instruments) has been performing in Cape Town for ten years, during which time they have risen to the forefront of the First Nation arts movement in South Africa. Their live performances feature trance-inducing improvisations on homemade instruments inspired by indigenous models, and dramatic recitations of original poetry by “The Ghetto Poet,” Jethro Louw.”
the obvious one is jethro louw’s foot stomp keeping rhythm with shakers. glen arendse stoically stands alongside his home made instrument of jam blik (can) with string attached to the centre of the blik and the other end trapped under his foot. the sound created moves from that of a string being plucked to that of a dog (jackal?) barking in the distance when he runs his thumb and forefinger over the string. further percussion created by garth erasmus, again using jam blikkies with strings attached and running them over the floor.
Follow
ready or not… here we come
1. jazzy bluebird – fifi
2. simple timeless – fertile ground
3. elle – christian prommer’s drumlesson
whats up world!?
4. gbogbo omo ile – solomon ilore and his afro drum ensemble
i’ve always been a fan of the blue note records releases. and this track is lifeted from the blue note re-release of solomon ilori’s african high life album. it features trumpet solo from another blue note artists (and a favourite of the buddha’s) – donald byrd.
5. djemeregne – imperial tiger orchestra
these swiss guys tore it up at PASS live. john menoud blew away with his mastery on the saxophone registering near impossible blips and bleeps (at least thats what i think) and the antics of percussionist luc detraz was quite the spectacle
6. cha cha – mulatu astatke
the granddaddy of ethiojazz
7. taurus woman – carlos garnett
coltrane influenced Panamanian saxophonist carlos garnett has appeared alongside jazz luminaries herbie hancock, art blakey’s jazz messengers, norman connors, charles mingus and miles davis; leaving his mark in each of these musicians’ bands.this track is off one of his first solo albums – a classic soul jazz outing called black love – featuring artists Buster Williams, Norman Connors, Charles Sullivan, Mauricio Smith, Reggie Lucas, Billy Hart, Mtume, and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
8. half ‘n half – zacks nkosi
a jazz funk classic from one of the leaders of the SA jazz scene in the 50s.
9. solifer lento – dalindeo
a turn for the scandinavians – finnish jazz outfit dalindeo get into some latin jazz groove. in their words “the intention of the group is to keep the original jazz spirit alive with heavy emphasis on danceable rhytms, strong melodies and the craftmanship of top musicians.”
10. the blessing song – shirley eubanks ensemble
a latin jazz dance take on michael white’s blessing song. this one’s seen many a dancefloor getting down…
ok time to feed my blue note fetish
11. ghana spice part 1 & 2 – candido
often refered to as the man with a thousand fingers. Havanna native Candido is now well into his eighties and shows no sign of retirement – having notched up performances with Lena Horne, Billy Taylor, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Elvin Jones, George Shearing, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Woody Herman, Doc Severinson, Marian McPartland, Lalo Schifrin. Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Charlie Parker, and Antonio Carlos Jobim in his long career
12. the little rasti – donald byrd
from the album ethiopian knights recorded after donald byrd’s trip to africa, where he explored african musical systems (??), and infused them in this recording
13. dr mganga – eddie henderson
a spacey jazz funk track led by trumpeter eddie henderson – reminiscent of headhunters – patrice rushen on electric piano and synths….
14. set us free – reuben wilson
reworking an eddie harris original
15. congo chant – john patton
more organeering with john patton on organ; harold alexander on tenor sax and hugh walker on drums
and hear ends the blue note self indulgence… up next a journey through jazz funk
ok, before the jazz funk, we have the black metropolis suite from trumpeter malachi thompson and africa brass
1. black metropolis
2. the panther
3. jazz revelations
4. genesis/rebirth
gary bartz (ok another blue note artist – the indulgence doesn’t end) features on alto and soprano sax; billy harper on tenor sax; david spencer, kenny anderson, micah frazier, elmer brown all feature on trumpet and featuring variously on trombone tracy dirk, steve berry, bill macfarland and omar jefferson
a bit about malachi thompson:
“Malachi Thompson moved to Chicago as a child and credited his interest in the trumpet to hearing Count Basie’s band at the Regal Theatre when he was 11 years old. Thompson worked in the rhythm and blues scene on Chicago’s South Side as a teen. In 1968, he joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), spending some time in the AACM big band.[1] Thompson performed and toured with the Operation Breadbasket Big Band, which was affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[2]
Thompson worked with saxophonists Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Frank Foster, and Archie Shepp among other musicians while living in New York City. He formed his Freebop band in 1978, and eventually relocated to Washington, D.C. Thompson also worked with Lester Bowie’s Hot Trumpets Repertory Company and formed Africa Brass, a group inspired by traditional New Orleans brass bands. [3]
Thompson graduated from Governor’s State University in 1974 with a degree in music composition.
With a goal of preserving the Sutherland Theater on Chicago’s South Side, Thompson founded the Sutherland Community Arts Initiative, a non-profit corporation, in 1991. He also wrote incidental music for a play about the theater.[4]
Informed in 1989 that he suffered from T-cell lymphoma and had one year to live, Thompson claimed he was healed by radiation and reading about jazz. He died in Chicago, Illinois from a relapse of his cancer in 2006.”
ending this epic session with movement in the city’s “lament.
led by pops mohammed on keyboards and featuring robbie jansen, basil ‘mannenberg’ coetzee, sipho gumede and roger harry
while we wait for khoi konnexion:
yaba e – solomon ilori and his afro drum ensemble
ghoema via nigeria (he he he)
on stage live is khoi khonnexion; described on arayan kaganof’s blog:
“Khoi Khonnexion (Jethro Louw – poetry, Glen Arendse and Garth Erasmus – indigenous instruments) has been performing in Cape Town for ten years, during which time they have risen to the forefront of the First Nation arts movement in South Africa. Their live performances feature trance-inducing improvisations on homemade instruments inspired by indigenous models, and dramatic recitations of original poetry by “The Ghetto Poet,” Jethro Louw.”
time to get into that trance…
the sound you hear:
the obvious one is jethro louw’s foot stomp keeping rhythm with shakers. glen arendse stoically stands alongside his home made instrument of jam blik (can) with string attached to the centre of the blik and the other end trapped under his foot. the sound created moves from that of a string being plucked to that of a dog (jackal?) barking in the distance when he runs his thumb and forefinger over the string. further percussion created by garth erasmus, again using jam blikkies with strings attached and running them over the floor.
they’ve now moved to an assortment of mouth bows
peotry by jethro louw