Recommend Me Some Good Afro Jazz Albums, Plz

Art Ensemble of Chicago

^^^ that was my first thought but they seem maybe a little... abstracted?

yeah some of it def is, but they have a very broad and deep discography

The AEOC did an album called The Art Ensemble of Soweto with the Amabutho Male Chorus. I've never heard it.

their approach is v different from, say, a band playing saxophone solos over a particular set of African rhythms (altho sometimes they do that too!) but they are definitely representative of a specific kind of intersection between American jazz and African music

xp

this one got a fair amount of hype, but if you haven't heard it, it's great: https://hailumergia.bandcamp.com/album/tche-belew

this has lots of good stuff on it: https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/next-stop-soweto-vol-3-giants-ministers-and-makers-jazz-in-south-africa-1963-1984

Which albums in particular shakes?

Salah Ragab is great too; usually gets compared to Sun Ra, who he played with at some point, but it's pretty unique imo: https://www.discogs.com/Salah-Ragab-And-The-Cairo-Jazz-Band-Egyptian-Jazz/release/992757

Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) - African Marketplace

good call on Ragab!

I have to think on it a little bit Mordy, some of the stuff is very noisy/avant-garde + tribal rhythms/percussion and then as they move into the 80s some of it becomes less harsh and a little more recognizable as "world music" (as it was understood in the 80s) but I have to listen/dig in a bit to think of what might best fit the bill here

In general they're great and I've never really heard an album I didn't like, they were v consistent in terms of quality.

Batsumi - Batsumi
Dollar Brand Duo - Good News From Africa
Pyramids - Lalibela
Hal Singer & Jef Gilson - Soul of Africa

This is one of my all time favorite albums: Pharoah Sanders and Maleem Mahmoud Ghania, Trance of the Seven Colors. North African Gnawa music with face-ripping free jazz sax on top.

https://billlaswell.bandcamp.com/album/the-trance-of-seven-colors

Got to be some Yusef Lateef on here, Eastern Sounds maybe? Fucking awesome album is that.

yeah I thought of that too, similar to AEOC in a lot of ways

I guess I'll just err on the side of listing my favorite AEOC albums and let others sort out to what extent they are African, musically speaking:

Message to Our Folks
Bap-Tizum
Urban Bushmen
Go Home
People in Sorrow

Pleased to already see Abdullah Ibrahim and Yusef Lateef mentioned. I knew the good people of ilm wouldn't let me down.

I would like to throw out an in-general mention of Ahmed Abdul-Malik. He is mostly known for being the bassist in Thelonious Monk's group for a while in the early 60s, but his own albums are super eclectic and definitely fit the parameters here (I mean, really: he plays oud!). This compilation is wonderful.

That Tony Allen track is really good. The version of Moanin' they do is really groovy.

https://youtu.be/sbsfA2qRkWo

I haven't really listened to this much, but the lineup is certainly interesting: Louis Moholo Octet ‎– Spirits Rejoice!

Bass – Harry Miller, Johnny Dyani
Drums – Louis Moholo
Piano – Keith Tippett
Tenor Sax – Evan Parker
Trombone – Nick Evans, Radu Malfatti
Trumpet – Kenny Wheeler

Also, I enjoy the self-titled album by Ndikho Xaba And The Natives.

This compilation has some good pointers: Spiritual Jazz - Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77 (https://www.discogs.com/Various-Spiritual-Jazz-Esoteric-Modal-Deep-Jazz-From-The-Underground-1968-77/master/121695).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDf9QM6i-p4

Speaking of Dudu, this set from Capetown 1964 is kind of unbelievable http://electricjive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/dudu-pukwana-and-jazz-disciples-1964.html

it's funny, going back to my AEOC I realize it's actually pretty difficult to pinpoint any aspect of their sound as being specifically African. There's obviously lots of attempts to *evoke* Africa what with the face paint and the percussion instrumentation and song titles and whatnot, but so much of their music is so abstract and open that I'm hard-pressed to point to anything they play that's based on actual African musical styles

so idk maybe I rescind that suggestion

This album is really good; I reviewed it for The Wire.

http://sunnysidezone.com/album/the-4-american-jazz-men-in-tangier

It's a two-disc set of recordings from 1959 by the Idrees Sulieman Quartet with Oscar Dennard on piano. The first disc was recorded in a radio station studio in Tangier; the second is a bootleg from a party at what is believed to be Quincy Jones' apartment.

Although my knowledge of it is not very deep, the BYG/Actuel scene seems ripe for this sort of harvest.

Grachan Moncur III's two albums for the label have been compiled onto one disc that is excellent.

Clifford Thornton's Ketchaoua is as unique as anything else he did.

And Sunny Murray's Hommage to Africa is closer to straight up free jazz, but worth a listen, I think.

Maybe someone else with more expertise in the label's output can help?

you are correct austin

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_at_the_Pan-African_Festival

thx everyone for suggestions so far - finding tons of wonderful stuff here. it's been pretty warm recently and idk this music sounds especially good while i'm driving around sweating w/ my windows down.

People need to post more here! Here's a couple of finds recently (I haven't listened carefully to all of these yet):

Khan Jamal Creative Arts Ensemble - Drum Dance to the Motherland
Khan Jamal Quintet - Balafon Dance (only some tracks)
Chico Freeman - Kings of Mali
The Ensemble Al-Salaam - The Sojourner

And there's also this mix of spiritual jazz, some of which is relevant: https://archive.org/details/BlackClassicalSpiritualJazz19552012

^^^possibly the greatest compilation ever imo

wow that looks great

I just discovered that there's a second volume! https://archive.org/details/Astrosonics-Doctrine-Spiritual-Jazz-Volume-2

It's unfortunately split up into separate files.

Oh, and with regard to the first volume, the tracklist is posted below in the comments without any time markers. Long ago, I recorded a few time markers for things I recognized (I'd likely recognize more now). But here's what I had, in case it helps to identify other stuff (key: "hour:minutes"):

Elvin Jones Love Supreme (~0:38-0:44 minutes in)
Roy Brooks and the Artistic Truth Black Survival (~4:29)
John Coltrane Om (4:51)
Pharoah Sanders: Red, Black & Green (~6:12)
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 Acknowledgment (6:34-6:35)
Pharaoh Sanders Prince of Peace (8:58-9:05)

yeah over 24 hours of music, over half of which I can't identify since matching up the track listings provided is m/l impossible

but it's insanely great, I dip into it all the time

xp

I forgot to mention this blog that I discovered: http://adarkershadeofjazzinn.blogspot.ca/

It has that Khan Jamal Balafon Dance album.

Drummer Eric Harland is leading a really hot band for two nights at the Jazz Standard next week - Walter Smith III on tenor sax, Taylor Eigsti on piano, Harish Raghavan on bass. (Both Smith and Raghavan also play in Ambrose Akinmusire's band.) I'm hoping to catch one of their sets.

Oh, I should update about seeing Ambrose Akinmusire: fantastic! It was all stuff from the live album. The only weakness really is the piano player, which also struck me with the live album. He certainly fits well at times, but his soloing and accompaniment often didn't seem to gel or just seemed a little like he's fresh out of music school. Everyone else was great. Akinmusire is a really sensitive player, for lack of a better description.

ive enjoyed a lot of what i've heard from akinmusire

Oh, I meant to post that in the Rolling Jazz thread, as it doesn't really fit in here!

Yeah, my post is also in the wrong thread.

good link regardless!

I can't believe I didn't think of this one until just now, but Cannonball Adderley's Accent On Africa is perhaps a bit campy, but still totally great.

Also, surely Sun Ra has something relevant to this.

hmmm

what is interesting about sun ra is the extent to which he is influenced by exotica and the esoteric societies of WWI era birmingham, i.e. a fake or imagined africa

tbf there is a lot of stuff on this thread whose connection to africa is more thematic than musical

for example: art ensemble, pharaoh sanders, khan jamal etc

i don't think erratic free jazz drumming on african drums is sufficient to establish afro jazz credentials

and i totally don't understand how coltrane fits into this, ditto sunny murray, cannonball, elvin, etc aside from song titles

i say this not to be some sort of gatekeeper for Afro jazz but just to point out that it means something specific (to me anyway) and applying it willy bully does a bit of a disservice to a group like oneness of juju or idris ackamoors pyramids who feature legit African rhythms and chants

haha Willy bully should be Willy nilly

Louis Moholo and Dudu Pukwana are mentioned above, but the whole universe of music that came out of The Blue Notes and their coterie is amazing. The Blue Notes recordings themselves are basically mid-60s Afro bop, and they're great, but after they moved to England they all did so many different things: Brotherhood of Breath, Spear, Assagai, Harry Miller's Isipingo and the totally essential "Blue Notess for Mongezi." Just a remarkable constellation of players, exploring a wide range of stuff and bringing South African influences into all kinds of settings.

This is new to me and pretty great: Beaver Harris (Shepp's drummer, amongst others) with Grachan Moncur on trombone.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61xInX7T%2BZL._SX342_QL70_ML2_.jpg

Can't find the killer opening track on YouTube, but it is on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7KmCzaCqmRyZCvBUyZI11i?si=FmVNEWmiSb-EDwVipKaVRg

Shocked this was bumped but not to note how dope the new Shabaka and the ancestors album is

xp zehra sent me a replacement copy, which indeed sounds amazing. i’m not sure what the issue was with my copy. but yeah it sounds like they put a lot of effort into the mastering / pressing, everyone i know who has a copy loves it, i take back what i said

xp

it sounds quite angry and dope as fuck on my first listen. the London Jazz/Shabaka thread was bumped this morning!

Just got my copy of the Shabaka disc in the mail. They're supposed to play NYC on 3/30; no idea if it's still happening or not.

Shabaka/Ancestors album is great and I was going to see them at Big Ears in two weeks and now I'm even more bummed than before that that's not happening.

Shabaka record is really good, London jazz is one of my big listens atm.

There's a new Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids album coming in July or August; it's called Shaman! (punctuation in original). Good stuff as always.

I recently bought some South African jazz on Bandcamp. I particularly recommend two big band albums by Marcus Wyatt & the ZAR Jazz Orchestra - One Night in the Sun and Into Dust/Waltz for Jozi. They feature African instruments (a banjo-like thing in particular) mixed with big band, and a singer who switches back and forth between English and Xhosa.

https://zarjazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/marcus-wyatt-the-zar-jazz-orchestra-one-night-in-the-sun

https://zarjazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/marcus-wyatt-the-zar-jazz-orchestra-into-dust-waltz-for-jozi

pretty excited for that Ackamoor. I just picked up the "Music of Idris Ackamoor" comp on bandcamp today

so i found this a few days ago. some e-digging led me to this, which i ordered immediately. am presently awaiting its' arrival with much enthusiasm.

This morning, when I went to start the car, I had forgotten that the first seven or so minutes of Pharaoh Sanders' "Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt" had played in the car yesterday, and the iPod started in the middle of the track.

This meant that I really started cruising as the piano's melodic line comes in. The sun was shining. I turned it up way too loud and people on the street were staring at me, but one guy yelled, "PHARAOH! YES!" as I went by.

Bandcamp had this on their best reissues list. South African (lightly funky) jazz:
https://wearebusybodies.bandcamp.com/album/heshoo-beshoo-group-armitage-road

Really enjoying it

Ah, I just realized I already know one of these songs, "Emakhaya," from the Next Stop Soweto comp

ah i just saw the reissue lp in the shop the other day, but grabbed this other south african jazz reissue instead. maybe i'll go back and see if it's still there!

https://outernationalsounds.bandcamp.com/album/habiba

ah ah ah xp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umH2fPYpk_8

That looks great, tlg, thanks! Gonna queue that up next.
I am definitely ordering this Heshoo Beshoo, I can't resist the thrill of paying in Canadian dollars

There's a new Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids album coming in July or August; it's called Shaman! (punctuation in original). Good stuff as always.

― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, June 19, 2020 9:28 AM (five months ago)

This was good! Ackamoor's trio of 21st-century albums is an extremely impressive late-career run, though I'd suggest newbies start with We Be All Africans

I've been listening to a South African saxophonist named Teaspoon Ndelu - mostly stuff from the 1970s and 80s. Nice jazz-funk with some disco elements. This album, from 1988, is solid, but the reissue (which is what you get here) also includes his first album, Magic Man, from 1973, and that's the good shit.

https://teaspoon-ndelu.bandcamp.com/album/new-horizons-1988

I found the song I will be listening to on my porch every night this summer. Unfortunately not on YouTube.
Thembe Mkhize, Emakhuzeni (stimela sase msawawa)

https://open.spotify.com/track/2kNlUZLurTIKoA7mT8fJ5q?si=lJSnz3v9SJyTsSR4a9sswQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Plxz3pC3ms

ty

man that's stunning, thanks for sharing

Yes, thanks!
Some notes from last year's Top 20:
Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela, Rejoice: some tracks a little too much like lesser or style-sound reliant variants of others? Maybe a couple, but overall groove and style-sound (what they do and how it's produced, lightning in a shapely bottle) hooks abound between the twin leads of flugelhorn (mellowness netted and pushed and pulled and slid through) the loping, splattering, slinking, stinking, whatever's right for drums, with bits of tenor sax, keys, vibes at times hang-fly (to steal an ancient Village Voice-quoted term of Steve Coleman's) Calm and tireless, enough space in there, none wasted.

Felt lousy all morning---then I heard this! Legendary vibraphonist and "Father of Ethio-jazz", Mulatu Astatke joins forces with Melbourne-based eight-piece Black Jesus Experience on their latest album To Know Without Knowing, an absorbing nine-track assembly of majestic Ethiopian melodies and hip-hop-infused jazz and funk grooves. Also: Latin, reggae extrapolations, 16-bar blues (as a bed for much else), instrumental inflections from at least five different countries of origin, cool but committed female voices, incisive rap, psychedelic guitar (one trip, but that's enough, for "Living On Stolen Land" (Ain't it graaand"): Its moody 6/8 vamp in D is a gateway, yes.) And they've got wedding song, a send-off to the afterlife, other serious fun---that flugelhorn omg:https://mulatuastatkeblackjesusexperience.bandcamp.com/album/to-know-without-knowing

Asher Gamedze, Dialectic Soul--->AG: "Fundamentally, it is about the reclamation of the historical imperative. It is about the dialect of the soul & the spirit while it moves through history. The soul is dialectic. Motion is imperative. We keep moving." For instance, in the opening "Emergence Suite," tenor sax and trumpet can seize on moments all they like or or must, while bass & drums are like,"Yeah, yeah, that's good, that's good, come on now, mind your head, good." Also perfectly supportive of, never submissive to horn comments and slender, strong singing in "Siyabulela." Then a witty, fabulistic stroll through enormity in "Interregnum," where "the hopscotch ended much as it began" along the way (Don't worry, that's almost all for the voices). "Eternality" is more work-out than bliss-out, but good between the couch potato headphones. "Hope In Azania" is adrenaline afterglow in second wind, not too hopeful, but reasonably so it seems; oh yeah Speculative Fourth" does eventually let a human sing along some more with the horns, for a little while, sorry anti-voxxers*. https://ashergamedze.bandcamp.com/album/dialectic-soul

*Some people on Rolling Jazz really aren't into vocals

Also, speaking what Tipsy Mothra said upthread, ouis Moholo and Dudu Pukwana are mentioned above, but the whole universe of music that came out of The Blue Notes and their coterie is amazing. The Blue Notes recordings themselves are basically mid-60s Afro bop, and they're great, but after they moved to England they all did so many different things: Brotherhood of Breath, Spear, Assagai, Harry Miller's Isipingo and the totally essential "Blue Notess for Mongezi." Just a remarkable constellation of players, exploring a wide range of stuff and bringing South African influences into all kinds of settings., this is a very intriguing roadmap:
How South Africa’s Blue Notes Helped Invent European Free Jazz
By Piotr Orlov · September 16, 2020
https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/blue-notes-south-african-jazz-guide?utm_source=footer

lol at "anti-voxxers"

had never heard of Tlokwe Sehume & Medu from South Africa but this kept popping up while i was listening to random Eddie Harris tracks on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPBh-2tE21o

I see Johnny Dyani was mentioned upthread but not this particular album (which was on a lot over the summer). Whole album is great but this track in particular is pure gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ4DiS6Vc3Y

Thanks, need to check some more of his----meanwhile, something I posted about on Rolling Jazz 2022:

...jazz is where you find it, and I'm smitten by this Sudanese ballad: hybrid guitar, normie rhythm guitar, bass, perc., just the right bits of tenor sax (most other tracks are faster, equally thoughtful grooves, and the finale has its own dynamic):

That's this
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3036461062_10.jpg

Ghanaian saxophonist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is doing highlife versions of jazz tunes on his album Hi-Life Jazz, which comes out October 7. Here's his version of "Round Midnite" (how it's spelled on the album):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w4fh11mv6E

xpost Right after the one I posted on RJ, budo jeru added:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XwKYYFvcDo

xpost Ambolley too! We're cooking this afternoon.

Saw some thread on Twitter about modern South African jazz but I can’t find it now. Any recommendations?

Nduduzo Makhathini
Keleketla!

Oh thanks!

That in the spirit of ntu album was mention on that thread

two other recent favs

Ayanda Sikade - Umakhulu
Linda Sikhakhane - Isambulo

if you don't get a response from unperson on this thread, try asking your question on the rolling jazz thread

oh and

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/rainbow-revisited

Really loving this record

https://honestjons.com/shop/artist/The_Malombo_Jazz_Makers/release/Down_Luckys_Way

Nduduzo Makhathini is fantastic, as others have said — in addition to his latest one, In the Spirit of Ntu, check out Ikhambi (the first thing I heard by him) and Listening to the Ground.

Tenor saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane (a dude) is really good, too; his albums Two Sides, One Mirror and Isambulo are traditional (if Coltrane-in-1964 is a tradition) but worth your time.

I also like saxophonist Sisonke Xonti; wrote about him here.

I interviewed drummer Ayanda Sikade for Bandcamp last year; that was a thrill. He's a super nice guy.

Trumpeter Ndabo Zulu's Queen Nandi: The African Symphony is really good, too; I wrote about that here.

https://mindmaintenance.bandcamp.com/album/mind-maintenance

This Josh Abrams & Chad Taylor record is a nice one from a few years ago

unless i'm mistaken, neither of them are south african?

They are not. I guess I was just recommending “other stuff that is heavily influenced by African sounds”

gotcha. this would be the thread for that ;)