Recently I watched "Amandla": A documentary about the role and development of music through the experiences of the Apartheid in South Africa. Mostly it was interviews with singers and musicians, producers, politicians, poets...etc. , who artistically resisted and reacted during that time, as well some were publicly outspoken and participants in protests and gatherings....but to me the most deeply felt part was the way in which certain songs that were huge hits on the radio (which was owned and broadcast by whites) had these secret, non-english clues and codes and messages in them, and became these anthems a la 'we will overcome'. But in addition to the historical power and significance, I've found out that some of this music is really burning.
The most recognized figurehead of this movement is trumpeter/singer/composer Hugh Masekela. I first had the album "I am not afraid" pictured below:
At first I was let down after the first track which is such a SUCH A killing! version of Dizzy's "Night in Tunisia". Its like he kidnaps the song and makes it a night in the crazed, confused, pissed, passionate government relocation camps of Johannesburg. It kills. The rest of the stuff grew on me too, even the relatively cheesy stuff (tracks 2 & 3). Soul music for sure, the trumpet is sexy, feel good music. You can find it here. I also grabbed "Hugh Masekela is Alive and Well at the Whiskey" which is more soul jazz and seems very natural bridging the Sam Cooke and the Duke, live in Hollywood 1967. Get it here.Another South African artist from this era to break into the AmerOpean music world was Letta Mbulu. Here is here 1970 Chisa release "Letta". Great soul voice, some great songs and some smooth proto disco. All of it good. Get that bad boy here.
Next up. Recently I've listened to all the Wayne Shorter albums from '64's "Hear no Evil" to '69's "Super Nova". Now, I am an unabashed Weather Report fan, but 'Super Nova', given that it features several future members of that band, along with a pre-return-to-forever Chic, sounds nothing like the proto-Report I expected. And it kills. Find it here.
Anyways I think it goes like this, if I had to rate them:
Super Nova
Adam's Apple
Juju
The Soothesayer
The All-seeing Eye
Hear No Evil
Night Dreamer
Schizophrenia
but shit looking back up there, they are all great and Wayne remains the Mayne in my opinion. They are all available readily online so I won't waste the time to up them or find the links. And then I recently learned that he had this free jazz trumpeter brother Alan. So I get Alan's "Orgasm" with C. Haden, Gato Barbieri and Rashid Ali from 1968. It is really smokin' free jazz like somebody made Don Cherry really mad and he now and then is coming right out at you in predatory bursts, without losing that sense of completely open, sinuous composition that great free jazz hazz.
And here is Steve Grossman, Gene Perla, Don Alias and Jan Hammer doing some pre-Stone Alliance funking. I'd call it hard fusion or just fucking ass kicking music. Even if Steve's aura is the wrong color, he is a great player.
2 comments:
Sure u can share the McCoy's Enlightenment with me. Post it in the comments.
Thanks
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