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Al Di Meola: Opus
by Doug Collette
Guitarist/composer Al Di Meola explores his heritage musically and otherwise in the near hour-long Opus. Largely a solo project, the music becomes all the more compelling for an intricacy mirrored in the deceptively ornate cover art. The intimacy arising from the very first tones of “Milonga Noctiva (Wandering in the Dark)" eventually alternates overdubs of acoustic and electric guitars with orchestral punctuation. As flamenco flourishes introduce the sounds of classically-tinged piano, the musicianship conjures an air of formality ...
read moreGloria Bosman: Emzini
by Seton Hawkins
Over the past decade, Gloria Bosman has risen to become one of South Africa's most prominent and successful jazz vocalists, mastering a blend of Afropop, R&B, gospel and straight-ahead jazz. Added to that, she is a powerhouse of a singer: think Miriam Makeba with extra chutzpah.On Emzini Bosman does not stray too far from her tried-and-true formula, no doubt to the great pleasure of her fans. While for the most part the album offers enjoyable listening and few ...
read moreFour Fourty: Us+Them=1
by Seton Hawkins
In an age where many albums rely on pyrotechnics, famous guest musicians or outright all-star lineups, Four Fourty offers a refreshing alternative. While each of the musicians is a solid soloist--from Mvuzo Dimba's Horace Silver-like piano playing to Vuyisile Sabongo's Maceo Parker-inspired saxophone funk--the band emphasizes the collaborative aspect of playing on Us+Them=1. The results speak for themselves with this easy-to-digest, laid-back collection of tracks.Stylistically, the band finds itself composing and performing in various genres. “The Cause is ...
read moreLouis Mhlanga: World Traveller
by Seton Hawkins
Louis Mhlanga has established himself as one of Southern Africa's most influential and unique guitarists. Originally from Zimbabwe, he now records for South Africa's Sheer Sound label. While his music, as the title of this album suggests, draws its inspiration from all over the globe, his guitar playing seems to draw its greatest influences from the melodic contours and rhythmic plays heard in the mbira music of Zimbabwe.This 2005 collection is mostly a retrospective album of Mhlanga's earlier ...
read moreSipho Gumede: African Sunrise
by Seton Hawkins
Listening to the hauntingly beautiful African Sunrise, released several months after Sipho Gumede's death, one can understand why Gumede is held up as one of South Africa's great musicians. His fat, warm bass sound, his compositional gifts, his genre-defying musical creativity, and his skills as a band leader are all in full bloom here.The album's tracks are drawn from four different sources: a collaboration Gumede had been working on with guitarist Ernie Smith; tracks recorded for Outernational Meltdown ...
read moreMusa Manzini: My Bass
by Seton Hawkins
My Bass, Musa Manzini's third solo outing, is an album by a bassist, for bassists. Manzini is not afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve--the solo bass overdubbing and slapping of Victor Wooten, the genre-hopping creativity of Gito Baloi, and much more can all be heard here. However, Manzini very much has his own voice. On electric bass, he favors high-register playing and can toss off long, flowing melodic lines that can turn into funky, mid-register riff-like statements at ...
read moreAndile Yenana: Who's Got the Map?
by AAJ Staff
South African pianist Andile Yenana first attracted attention as a sideman on Zim Ngqawana's early recordings, where his McCoy Tyner-ish playing served as a perfect complement to Ngqawana's Coltrane-like energy. In 2002 Sheer Sound released his debut, We Used to Dance, which drew upon these themes. But it would be a mistake to categorize Yenana as a modal player locked in that mold, because he's capable of much more. His followup, the mostly quintet album Who's Got the Map?, offers ...
read moreAndile Yenana: Who's Got the Map?
by Seton Hawkins
The odd title of pianist Andile Yenana's second album as a leader, as he writes, “depicts the space I am in--call it my voice, expression, interpretation of a reality transformed into compositions." While that's a mouthful, the album succeeds in this respect. A disheartening trend in some South African jazz is a common desire to fashion a “global village" sound: so many styles are referenced and used that the result becomes impersonal. Yenana never succumbs to such problems. ...
read moreKalamazoo: Kalamazoo 2
by Seton Hawkins
Kalamazoo 2 is the second of four collaborations between the late bassist Sipho Gumede and multi-instrumentalist Pops Mohamed. Recorded in 1999, it features guest musicians Prince Kupi on guitar, Xoli Nkosi on keyboards and brass, and both Barney Rachabane and Mandla Masuku on alto saxophone.The album opens promisingly--a funky bass-and-keyboard-driven riff along with Mohamed's spoken word greets the listener on “Gauteng Vibe," followed by Rachabane's gritty saxophone. This rather infectious groove keeps you listening throughout the track, leading ...
read moreSan featuring Zim Ngqawana: San Song
by Eyal Hareuveni
San Song represents the first appearance on record by one of South Africa's greatest musical treasures, saxophonist Zim Ngqawana. The disc, which presented Ngqawana's soulful vision to the jazz world, was recorded in Oslo in May of 1996 with Norwegian saxophonist Bjørn Ole Solberg and a young and rising Norwegian rhythm section. Ngqawana was 37 years old at the time of the recording; two years had passed after he led a 100-musician troupe at the inauguration of South African president ...
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