afrojazz

Abdullah Ibrahim – Water From An Ancient Well

https://amf.didiermary.fr/abdullah-ibrahim-water-ancient-well/

“Water From An Ancient Well” features the pianist/composer with a very strong septet. Such superior musicians as tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford, altoist Carlos Ward, baritonist Charles Davis, and trombonist Dick Griffin are heard at their most creative and emotional on these eight Ibrahim originals. [...]

#80smusic #AbdullahIbrahim #Jazz #Madiba #Piano #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

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Ami Taf Ra - How I Became A Madman
Feat. Kamasi Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkj3kBkcA4c

LA-based Moroccan artist, inspired by Khalil Gibran’s seminal work "The Prophet" https://www.kahlilgibran.com/images/The%20Prophet%20Ebook%20by%20Kahlil%20Gibran.pdf
“I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen.”

From "The Prophet and The Madman," produced by Kamasi Washington.
https://amitafra.bandcamp.com/album/the-prophet-and-the-madman

#Morocco #Jazz #AfroJazz #SpiritualJazz #Gnawa #Gospel

Far from Perfection · Etuk Ubong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joHjmoxBzFY

More on AMF: https://amf.didiermary.fr/etuk-ubong-africa-today/

#Afrobeat #AfroJazz

Nduduzo Makhathini – Amathambo

https://amf.didiermary.fr/nduduzo-makhathini-amathambo-ikhambi/

South-African pianist & healer Nduduzo Makhathini will release his next albums on Blue Note Records.

Award-winning pianist, improvisor, healer and scholar from South Africa. A recipient of prestigious awards such as the Standard Bank Young Artist Award, multiple South African Music Award (SAMA) and AFRIMA among others that have made him an influential figure. [...]

#Jazz #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

Kujenga - Ransome
https://kujenga.bandcamp.com/album/ransome

Tribute to Fela...

More on AMF: https://amf.didiermary.fr/rss-club/kujenga-in-the-wake/
See also: https://indieweb.social/@blogamf/114799385749688491

#SouthAfrica #Afrobeat #AfroJazz

Benjamin Jephta - Homecoming Revisited
Feat. Siya Makuzeni, Marcus Wyatt, Sisonke Xonti, Mthunzi Mvubu, Llewelyn George, Damian Kamineth
https://benjaminjephta.bandcamp.com/album/homecoming-revisited

More on AMF: https://amf.didiermary.fr/benjamin-jephta-quintet-homecoming/

#SouthAfrica #Jazz #AfroJazz

Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz

https://amf.didiermary.fr/hugh-masekela-introducing-hedzoleh-soundz/

Leader Stanley Todd Kwesi assembled a monster ensemble of musicians from the Ghana Arts Council, intending to form a new Afro-Rock group, known as Hedzoleh Soundz, that would be more traditional & African in sound, and hopefully surpass Osibisa in popularity (alas it was not to be).

Hedzoleh Soundz were a band from […]

#AfroFunk #Ghana #HughMasekela #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

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The Boy’s Doin’ It (1975)

https://amf.didiermary.fr/boys-doin-it-1975-masekela-fela-kuti/

The Boy’s Doin’ It is the 17th studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, recorded in New York City and in Lagos, and released in June 1975.

So many incredible musicians on one album, dedicated to ‎Fela Kuti‬ and the women of the world: Okyerema Asante, Orlando Julius, the rhythm brothers Stanley & Frankie Todd, [...]

#FelaKuti #HughMasekela #Jazz #OrlandoJulius #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

Balimaya Project – Wolo So

https://amf.didiermary.fr/balimaya-project-soninka-patronba/

The Balimaya Project is a collective of 16 musicians in UK (including members of Kokoroko and Seed Ensemble), fusing traditional Mandingo music with Jazz.

The Balimaya Project synthesizes and bridges London’s bustling jazz circuit with traditional repertoire and folklore of the Mandé peoples of West Africa.

#Documentary #Jazz #Mali #Senegal #AfroJazz

Bixiga 70 – Quebra Cabeça

https://amf.didiermary.fr/bixiga70-quebra-cabeca/

São Paulo’s acclaimed 10-piece instrumental collective released their 4th album in 2018, “Quebra Cabeça”.

Urban Afro-Brazilian grooves, empowered horn-driven melodicism and massive dance floor inspiration.One of South America’s most exhilarating musical propositions. Almost four centuries after the first slave ships loaded their cargoes and set sail, the connection between [...]

#AfroFunk #Brazil #AfroJazz #Afrobeat

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Mombasa – Kenia (remixed)

https://amf.didiermary.fr/mombasa-kenia-remixed/

Essential and hard to find album with tons of true killer Afro Funk breaks.

Classic and sought after Afro Jazz Reissue of original debut LP by African jazz band “Mombasa” led by Lou Blackburn and recorded in 1975 at Cornet studio […]

#70smusic #AfroFunk #Kenya #Remixed #AfroJazz

Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa

https://amf.didiermary.fr/hugh-masekela-union-south-africa/

Jonas Gwangwa (1937 – 2021) was a genius trombone player from Soweto, South Africa. That’s him in the middle between 2 other South African geniuses, the late Hugh Masekela on the left, and Caiphus Semenya (born 1939), on the right, for their band Union of South Africa.

The album, released in May 1971, is […]

#70smusic #HughMasekela #Jazz #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

Keletigui Diabate Feat. Habib Koite – Summertime at Bamako

https://amf.didiermary.fr/keletigui-diabate-habib-koite-summertime-bamako/

Summertime at Bamako is a track on Kélétigui Diabaté’s album “Sandiya” with Habib Koité on guitar. The master balafonist revisits American composer George Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy & Bess (1935).

#Balafon #Cover #Instrumental #Jazz #Mali #AfroJazz

Kibrom Birhane – Here And There

https://amf.didiermary.fr/kibrom-birhane-here-there/

Is Kibrom Birhane the future of Ethiopian jazz?

He has a deep connection to the past and a vision for the future. His keyboard playing and improvisation reaches the deepest depths of the cosmos inside an unlimited musical universe.

Summer 2022 marks the release of Here And There, the new album by the critically acclaimed […]

#Ethiopia #Jazz #AfroJazz

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Manu Dibango – Africadelic

https://amf.didiermary.fr/manu-dibango-africadelic/

“The Panther” is the main AfroFunk track found on “Africadelic,” an album released in 1973 by “Manu Dibango And His African Pop Group”.

In fact, this album was released a year before as part of the Mondiophone collection, a “library of recorded background music”…
Music design by Papa Manu, what else?

#70smusic #AfroFunk #Cameroon #ManuDibango #AfroJazz

Nubiyan Twist – Jungle Run

https://amf.didiermary.fr/nubiyan-twist-jungle-run/

Now one of the leading lights in the UK’s new generation of soulful, genre-fluid artists, Nubiyan Twist, the Leeds-born and now London-based 10-piece collective have created their finest recordings to date, effortlessly weaving together elements of jazz, soul, hip hop, African styles, Latin, dub, hip hop and electronics in a flow of thought-provoking and [...]

#FullAlbum #Jazz #SoulJazz #AfroJazz

iPhupho L’ka Biko – Azania EP

https://amf.didiermary.fr/iphupho-lka-biko-azania-ep/

iPhupho L’ka Biko describe themselves as “children of Biko” and their music as Afrikanist Experimental Jazz. Azania is their first EP.

In the bustling city of Johannesburg, black classical music comes alive through the sounds of the powerful experimental jazz group, iPhupho L’ka Biko. Emerging from the influential student movements of 2015-2016, this group has […]

#Jazz #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

The Chisa Years (1965-1975)

https://amf.didiermary.fr/the-chisa-years-1965-1975/

The Chisa Years: 1965–1975 (Rare and Unreleased) is a compilation album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela.

The album consists of 14 rare or forgotten tracks recorded by Stewart Levine and Hugh Masekela from 1965 to 1975 when they ran their own Chisa Records label. […]

#60smusic #70smusic #Compilation #HughMasekela #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

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Miriam Makeba & Hugh Masekela – Soweto Blues

https://amf.didiermary.fr/miriam-makeba-hugh-masekela-soweto-blues/

Freedom song! Soweto Blues, released in 1977, is a protest song written by Hugh Masekela and performed by Miriam Makeba.

The song is about the Soweto uprising that occurred in 1976, following the decision by the apartheid government of South Africa to make Afrikaans a medium of instruction [...]

#Apartheid #Documentary #HughMasekela #Jazz #Madiba #MiriamMakeba #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz

Balimaya Project – For Aziz Feat. Afronaut Zu

https://amf.didiermary.fr/balimaya-project-aziz-afronaut-zu/

The first track from album “When The Dust Settles”, “For Aziz” features Afronaut Zu with Balimaya Project.
See also “Seasons of Baraka” the promo single released a few weeks before.

If Balimaya Project’s debut album emphasised tradition & culture in a collective sense, their second album “When The Dust Settles” addresses the emotional and […]

#Jazz #Mali #Senegal #AfroJazz

Blue Lab Beats – Motherland Journey

https://amf.didiermary.fr/blue-lab-beats-motherland-journey/

Blue Lab Beats are a London-based music duo, nominated since 2021 for multiple awards. They won a Grammy award in 2022 for their production on Angelique Kidjo’s Mother Nature. Their third album was released in February 2022 on Blue Note Records, and recorded in Ghana with Killbeatz. […]

#Ghana #LiveMusic #AfroJazz #Electro

Hailu Mergia – Yene Mircha

https://amf.didiermary.fr/hailu-mergia-yene-mircha-choice/

Yene Mircha is an album by Hailu Mergia released in 2019.

It’s been a long, winding road to Hailu Mergia’s sixth decade of musical activity. From a young musician in the 60s starting out in Addis Ababa to the 70s golden age of dance bands to the new hope as an emigre in America to […]

#Ethiopia #Jazz #AfroJazz

Bulawayo Sweet Rhythms Band – Skokiaan (1947)

https://amf.didiermary.fr/bulawayo-sweet-rhythm-band-skokiaan-1947/

Skokiaan (Tsaba Tsaba Dance) is probably better known in the version recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1954 with the Sy Oliver orchestra, but this track was originally released in Rhodesia in 1947 by the Bulawayo Sweet Rhythm(s) Band.

The tune found it’s way to the U.S. and lots of folks covered it. Enjoy!

#Jazz #SouthAfrica #Zimbabwe #AfroJazz #LouisArmstrong

Bantu Spaceship

https://amf.didiermary.fr/bantu-spaceship/

Bantu Spaceship will have listeners embark on a journey. A journey that feels like you are being taken through a portal into another time, Afrofuturism.

Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza, the craftsman behind sound production, is no stranger to providing out-of-this-world audio scenes, while Ulenni Okandlovu serves as the voice guiding us by way of Ndebele chants, […]

#Remixed #SouthAfrica #Zimbabwe #AfroJazz #Electro

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Somi revisits Pata Pata

https://amf.didiermary.fr/somi-revisits-pata-pata/

This cover of Pata Pata is from "Zenzile, The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba," released, at the end of 2022, in which Somi reinterprets 17 songs of Mama Africa with a jazzy approach. At regular intervals, we hear excerpts from an interview with Mama Africa who explains in no uncertain terms what apartheid is. Somi brought […]

#Jazz #MiriamMakeba #Rwanda #SouthAfrica #Uganda #AfroJazz #Apartheid