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 […]
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 […]
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).
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?
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 [...]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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!
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
One Night in Pelican
https://amf.didiermary.fr/one-night-pelican/
“One Night in Pelican” is a compilation that features all the key groups and players of a special time and place. It captures the musical dreams escaping from Soweto’s first nightclub.
Ten seminal tracks journeying through Jazz, Funk, Fusion and Disco, detailing the incredible story and sounds behind the Soweto nightclub during the height of […]
#70smusic #AfroFunk #Apartheid #Jazz #SoulJazz #SouthAfrica #AfroJazz
Fela Kuti – Waka Waka
https://amf.didiermary.fr/waka-waka-fela-ransome-kuti/
“Waka Waka” and “Se E Tun De” on this 45T from the sixties by Fela Ransome Kuti and His Koola Lobitos.
There’s a live version on the 3-disc set Highlife: Jazz and AfroSoul (1963-1969) below. A collection of recordings made between 1963 and 1969 that provide unique insight into the beginnings of Kuti’s craft. […]
#60smusic #Compilation #FelaKuti #Highlife #Jazz #Nigeria #AfroJazz
The Past Is Unpredictable, Only the Future Is Certain
https://amf.didiermary.fr/past-unpredictable-only-future-certain-vuma-levin/
Vuma Levin is a multi-award-winning guitar player and one of the leading talents in South African jazz.
In September 2021, Vuma Levin achieved a major milestone in his career when he was named the Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, a coveted award […]
Ayanda Sikade – Umakhulu
https://amf.didiermary.fr/ayanda-sikade-umakhulu/
Though he’s been a crucial figure in South African jazz for years, drummer Ayanda Sikade is only now achieving the recognition he’s long deserved—something one could say about the South African scene as a whole, given the increased worldwide profile it’s begun to enjoy in the last few years. His second album as a leader […]
Spirits Rejoice – Electric Chicken
https://amf.didiermary.fr/spirits-rejoice-electric-chicken/
Spirits Rejoice drew together some of South Africa’s most abundantly talented and forward-thinking jazz players and created a complex and challenging jazz fusion that shifted the terms of South Africa’s engagement with jazz towards new music being made by pioneers such as Chick Corea, Weather Report, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny and others. [...]
Zoe Modiga – Inganekwane
https://amf.didiermary.fr/zoe-modiga-lengoma-tubatsi-mpho-moloi/
Inganekwane (“Zulu fairytale”), the second album by Zoe Modiga, released in 2020, is inspired by the theme of self-reflection to reveal messages of identity.
Zoe Modiga born and raised in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, is the quintessential artist who represents the present and future of South African music. Drawing from the human experience, identity and […]
The SN Project – Afrikanization
https://amf.didiermary.fr/sn-project-afrikanization/
Siphephelo Ndlovu (The SN Project) is a pianist and vocalist from South Africa. In 2020, his debut album titled “Afrikanization” was released, incorporating structures of the jazz language, blended with rich harmonies reminiscent of the isiZulu culture of South Africa.
Nobuhle Ashanti – Bait For Steps Forward
https://amf.didiermary.fr/nobuhle-ashanti-bait-for-steps-forward/
Nobuhle Ashanti is a pianist, composer, and recording artist from Cape Town, South Africa. Her debut album – “Bait for Steps Forward” (released in March 2023) – features a wide variety of Cape Town’s leading poets, instrumentalists and vocalists. […]
Oratorio of a Forgotten Youth
https://amf.didiermary.fr/oratorio-of-a-forgotten-youth/
Inspiré par le travail de grands musiciens comme Jonas Gwangwa et son Amandla Cultural Ensemble, qui a accompli un travail politique important pendant la longue lutte pour l’autodétermination qu’a connue l’Afrique du Sud, l’Amandla Freedom Ensemble est un jalon important pour la tradition du jazz sud-africain. [...]
Hugh Masekela – Night In Tunisia
https://amf.didiermary.fr/hugh-masekela-night-in-tunisia/
“Night in Tunisia” est l’un des morceaux extraits d’une compilation dédiée à Hugh Masekela “Township Grooves”, qui reprend des compositions datant des années 1965 à 1974.
C’est bien sûr une reprise de Dizzy Gillespie “A Night in Tunisia”, ici en live en 1981. […]
Siya Makuzeni Sextet – Out of This World
https://amf.didiermary.fr/siya-makuzeni-sextet-out-this-world/
Siya Makuzeni is a professional South African trombone player, vocalist, lyricist and songwriter regularly collaborating with other reknown South African musicians. She’s known for her extensive musical range, vocal dexterity, experimental creativity, and passion for symbiotic cross-genre influences.
Thandi Ntuli – Blk Elijah
https://amf.didiermary.fr/thandi-ntuli-blk-elijah/
“Blk Elijah & The Children of Meroë” is the 5th release and 3rd studio album by South African Jazz pianist Thandi Ntuli.
Through her work over a hitherto 13-year career, Thandi has carved space for herself, and others seeking home, to fully exist – thereby firmly situating herself and the contemporary South African generation in […]
Hugh Masekela – Mace and Grenades / Riot
https://amf.didiermary.fr/mace-grenades-hugh-masekela-riot/
Here’s a 7″ released on Chisa in 1969 “Mace And Grenades / Riot”, directed by Stewart Levine and written by Masekela.
This is the soundtrack of an ongoing revolution.
Yep, Feelin’ it!
#60smusic #Apartheid #HughMasekela #SouthAfrica #Vinyl #AfroJazz
