Chikara Ueda - Written, Composed, Arranged and Producer
Recorded at Sound Inn Studio, Tokyo, August 3,4,5, 1980
Remixed at Victor Studio using JVC DAS 90 DIGITAL AUDIO MASTERING SYSTEM
Special Thanks to: Mr. Eduardo H. Gispelt and Cuban Embassy / Mr. Hideyo Fukasaku / Miss Atsuko Yamamoto / Mr. Jun Takemura / Mr. Toyo Nakamura
Front Cover: "Tres Lindas Cubas"
Recorded in Japan, and the whole thing was composed, arranged and produced by Chikara Ueda. Genre-wise, it's right up the band's alley - Cuban rhythms and melodies with jazz harmony and improvisation - but he makes the classic fusion mistake, burying the distinctive elements of each style so that the result is neither here nor there ("Sea Mail"). Irakere's own arrangements might take a classical piece to Minton's or make psychedelia danceable (or vice versa), but you can always tell what they're trying to do; Ueda, by contrast, smooths the emotion out of the bolero "Que Pasa?" and ruins the uptempo "Encuentro" with silly disco drumming. It's the difference between getting your chocolate in my peanut butter, and blending the two so thoroughly you can't tell what the heck you're eating any more. The compositions themselves are intriguing (the title suite), and if Ueda had just left Irakere the sheet music and quietly withdrawn, the results would have been worth hearing. By now D'Rivera had defected, and was promptly replaced by Germán Velazco.
There were at least two studio sessions in 1979 -- the last two before Paquito's departure in May of 1980. One in April 1979 in New York and one May 25 to June 1, 1979 for a Japan onlyrelease.
April, 1979 - New York Session:
This session produced six odd tracks (Claudia, Ayer te concí, Añung añunga, Gira gira, Baila mi ritmo and Ciento años de juventud) that don't appear to have ever been issued in Cuba and canonly be had on compilations. The one on the left is missing Gira gira, and is paired with better sounding transfers of 7 of the 8 studio tracks from LD-3660 (leaving out the studio version of Juana1600). The one of the right leaves out Ayer te conocí, and is paired with 4 of the 5 live Grammy-award winning tracks from LD-3769, (leaving the live version of Juana 1600!). It's highly ironic thatboth of these reissuers chose to jetison Juana 1600, which, with its prominent use of batá rhythms and folkloric coros, is much more interesting -- both musically and historically -- than some ofthe less original studio tracks from these foreign sessions which offer little more than derivative collages of American jazz and fusion.
The seventh track was the first studio version of one of Irakere's main live vehicles of the time, a steaming dance track called Por romper el coco. The New York version comes in at 5:22 andfeatures a trombone solo by Sandoval. An 8:40 studio version (titled simply El coco) was recorded in August of 1980 in Japan. There's also a live version on the 1978 23 y 12 concert.
If you are looking to have the complete session in digital format you will need these:
Irakere
1994
The Best Of Irakere
01. Gira Gira
02. Claudia
03. Ilya
04. Añunga Ñunga
05. Ciento Años De Juventud
06. Aguanile
07. Misa Negra (The Black Mass)
08. Adagio On A Mozart Theme
09. Xiomara
10. Por Romper El Coco
Irakere
2003
Chekere-Son - Best Of Irakere 1978/80
01. Chekere-Son
02. 38 1/2
03. Moja El Pan
04. Xiomara
05. Iya
06. Ayer Te Conoci
07. Añung Añunga
08. Baila Mi Ritmo
09. Por Romper El Coco
Audiences fortunate enough to experience a live IRAKERE performance when the group exploded out of Cuba in the late 1970s witnessed the group's rapid ascension to the exalted realm ofthe musically extraordinary. During the all-too-brief period when they were still performing as a unit, IRAKERE earned its rightful place alongside American jazz geniuses Louis Armstrong, DizzyGillespie, Thelonious Monk, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and other innovators and expanders of progressive musical horizons who heard something a little different and devoted their talent to thesearch for it.
IRAKERE pushed the jazz frontier deeper into the African heart of Cuba. Instead of using Cuban percussion patterns to enhance jazz compositions, they made their country's traditional musican equal partner or featured player in their work.
The members, Carlos del Puerto (bass), Carlos Emilio Morales (electric guitar), Jorge "El Nino" Alfonso (congas), Enrique Pla’ (drums), Oscar Valdés (vocals and percussion), Armando Cuervo(also on vocals and percussion), Jorge Varona (trumpet and flugelhorn), Arturo Sandoval (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone and vocals), Paquito D'Rivera (soprano/baritone/alto sax), CarlosAverhoff (soprano/tenor sox, piccolo and flute), and Jesus Chucho Valdés (arranger, composer and all keyboards), were all formally trained, student of jazz, and world (lass soloists, (as ArturoSandoval and Paquito D'Rivera, woodwind magicians, continue to demonstrate). Their contribution to the evolution of jazz as a gracious musical form that can accommodate and celebrate allcultures is rooted in the group's deliberate intent to cross-pollinate jazz instrumentation with traditional Cuban/African inspired music that weaved Batá drums (two sided Afro-Cuban drumsassociated with rituals instead of conga drums and timbales) and chekeres into their arrangements.
From a percussion perspective, it's still very polyrhythmic, but the layers often have an earthy, spiritual aura to them and the group's dense musical background allows them to leave few musicalstones unturned.
The vibrant "Gira Gira" showcases the interplay between drum set, congas, and chekere using a Congo rhythm with Chucho on Fender Rhodes, the keyboard instrument of choice for HerbieHancock and other progressive jazz musicians during that period. There's a smooth segue into a bass guitar and bass drum driven disco downbeat, a steady cadence that pauses for a sorrowfulflute phrase bathed in distortion to give it almost a rock sound and a bluesy guitar riff. The song is lively and complex but also political With its message about workers whose suffering in obeyingthe commands of the foreman or overseer echoes the pain of their slave ancestors. In that context, the drum/bass beat embodies the sound of a long march, the forced footsteps of workersbeing led into an endless day of pain, toil, and indignity, the flute and guitar solos sound like a lament, a momentary, solitary wail in the wilderness.
It's got a good beat and you can dance to it, but the full power in this modern day ode to mistreated workers lies in its connection to a historical necessity to hide or take refuge inside the musicof one's homeland.
American slave owners prohibited the use of African dialects among their slaves, often punishing them severely for practicing traditional musical rituals honoring births, deaths, marriages, etc.Drumming in particular was deemed as subversive with its potential for communicating in yet another language the slave owner did not understand, but where the drumming, (often achievedwith spoons, wooden boxes, beating on porch rails or anything handy) was allowed to follow, particularly in Cuba, it become the heartbeat, the pulse, the unifying force of a strong willed peoplewho set their music free in a hostile land even while they lived in bondage.
Having imported their own musical heritage through dance and the voice of stringed instruments (the forerunners of today's guitar), Spanish slave masters in Cuba were more tolerant of theAfrican passion for drumming. (Their influence was enduring-there's a Spanish high-society danzón feel to "Ciento Años De Juventud" included in this collection, but it starts with a FatsDomino/Jerry Lee Lewis kind of piano tinkling.) Under the guise of celebrating sacred Catholic rites, slaves in Cuba were able to preserve their Yoruba language and music and honor its Africandeities, or orishas. Music became the Cuban slaves' weapon of resistance and a barrier against complete assimilation, eventually infiltrating the fabric of village life all over the island.
It was the merging of what was available at the time to a musical people: the intricate patterns of Spanish stringed instruments and the propulsive, rhythmic, multi-layered drum/dance/voice triadof African celebratory or religious music, that formed the foundation for Afro-Cuban jazz.
Though separated by language and geography (and ultimately politics), there have always been jazz musicians in Cuba who played as well as anyone anywhere and admirers on both sides ofthe water. Years before the embargo, Swing Era big band leaders borrowed heavily from Cuban musicians who migrated to New York. American audiences easily accepted contemporary Afro-Cuban dances, La Rhumba, La Cha Cha Cha, La Congo, and El Mambo, embracing Desi Arnaz as a musician more readily than as the husband of its beloved Lucy
Through their collaborations (depending on who you talk to), Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo, Charlie Parker, Stan Kenton, Machito, and Mario Bauzá are credited with contributing a hybrid strain tothat genre, and naming their offspring Cu-Bop. They left the ground fertile for a new Afro/Cuban/American musical discovery.
But until IRAKERE's successful experiments with blending both traditional jazz and traditionally Cuban elements and the political maneuvering that one assumes had to take place allowing thegroup to bring it off the island during the Cuban embargo-they were the first Castro-era group to record and tour abroad – the merge was incomplete.
The group's finesse in calling all historical and musical forces into play (along with the inspiración style of improvisational singing) gave them a potent arsenal from which to create. No song iswithout several well conceived and interestingly placed influences, particularly the three movements of the 17-plus-minutes-long "Misa Negra (The Black Mass)" which stretches across a galaxyof sound using chimes, cymbals, bird whistles, a haunting background vocal melody, call and response singing. Almost a suite but definitely a masterpiece of composing and arranging, "MisaNegra" establishes a cosmic aura, featuring Chucho's brilliant keyboard strategy, and breakneck arranging for the brass section. Tempo and mood change along the way.
Introduced by cowbell, the song "Ilya" demonstrates the power of call and response not only between the primary vocalist and background vocalists but among the singers and drummers.Pushed by a 6/8 rhythm into a religious/Yoruba direction, the chorus (or coro) inspires the singer in a kind of intense conversation with each "speaker" responding to the passion of the others.(Sandoval shines in this selection named after one of the bata drums.)
Unless the planets align themselves again to produce a reunion of these exemplary musicians, fans of their music can only experience IRAKERE through old records, IRAKERE, IRAKERE 2,the Havana Jam LPs, etc. But the advances in recording technology since the group disbanded present old fans and new audiences with the chance to hear them on CD which provides thismusic with the sound quality it so richly deserves.
Irakere was an amazing band. Something like this does not happen very often. Musicians so uniquely talented together in one band. I had read about them being one of the premier Cubanbands, and I got this compilation. The first time I heard it, I couldn't believe it. These guys know their Latin roots to a T, yet they mix that with a lot of different styles. Disco/Funk style grooves,complete with psychedelic synthesizer give way to the deepest Latin groove, capped with monstruos solos by the great Arturo Sandoval or Paquito D'Rivera. Dark, African tribal-like melodiesinterspersed with spoken-word phrases. Even classical music, Cubanized! I never get tired of it. I can never get tired of fearlessly made music. Music made with the sole purpose of exploringpossibilities. Yet, one can feel the sense of humor. You feel they are having fun, they enjoy the creative process, they enjoy the off-beat combinations that seem to work like magic. One can onlyjoin in the enjoyment. If you like Latin music at all, and you also enjoy music that combines seemingly disparate elements, Irakere should be on your list of bands to consider.
Recorded at EGREM Studio in Havana, Cuba, on May 25 ~ June 1, 1979
Mixdown at Victor studio, Tokyo, Japan
Manufactured & distributed by Victor Musical Industries, Inc., Tokyo, JapanIrakere - La ComparsaIrakere Comparsa
This session was recorded in Cuba for a Japanese company and released on JVC and Milestone, It would be Paquito's last session with Irakere
1) Chéquere-son - This is a different and much long version of the opening song of Irakere's second studio album, LD-3660
2) Quince minutos - This is a very different version of the very non-Cuban sounding easy-listening jazz number that became the title track of LD-4267 in 1986.
3) La semilla & 6) Cha cha cha - Both of these found their way onto LD-4004, EGREM's Selección de éxitos, Vol. II.
4) La comparsa - This is the only known studio version of the opening number of the famous 23 y 12 concert.
5) Camagüey - When EGREM inexplicably re-released LD-3660 as LD 3926, this recording replaced Chéquere-son as the opening track.
A studio album recorded in Havana that saw delayed release in the US and Japan, with three songs previously cut for Areito (title track, longer but less exciting than previously) and three new ones ("La Semilla"). I have to think it was originally intended for CBS/Columbia, but was an early casualty of the Reagan Revolution. Either way, the band doubles down on Irakere 2's ill-advised disco direction: comparing this incarnation of "La Comparsa" to the Recital version demonstrates the distressing results. Even the less bastardized tracks are rather silly ("Cha Cha Cha") - if you're going to skip any of the original Irakere discs, make it this one.
The second EGREM disc of the year - also drawn from a live performance - eschews the band's party anthems in favor of highbrow fare: Cuban classical guitar virtuoso Leo Brouwer arranged and performed on four of the album's six tunes. There's a quiet version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" with just Brouwer and Valdés alternating statements of the melody, only livened up with brief spurts of Dixieland horns. There are takes on three classical pieces: Rodrigo's "Concierto De Aranjuez," Heitor Villalobos's "Preludio No. 3," and the Mozart "Adagio" - more fully realized here than on the previous rendition. As with Newport and Montreux, the "Misa Negra" suite is best of all, with a tremendous instrumental and emotional sweep. Confusingly re-released by EGREM as Vol. II.
"Leo Brouwer-Irakere" Documents An Exceptional Concert That Sought To Break The Barrier Between Classical And Popular Music (Havana, 1978). Thus, It Brought Together For The First TimeLeo Brouwer -Considered At The Time One Of The World´S Most Important Guitar Soloists - And The Afro-Cuban Jazz Group IRAKERE. The Group, Winner Of A GRAMMY In 1978, And The #1 Ranking Latin Jazz Band
Recorded live at the Newport Festival, New York and at Montreux Jazz Festival by Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland during the group’s tour through the United States and Switzerland during June/July, 1978
North American Latin jazz audiences were knocked out when this LP came out, for it was the first idea many of us had of the explosive power of this Cuban jazz/rock band, which had been letbriefly out of Cuba to tour. Columbia taped them live at New York's Newport Festival and Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival, and the result was a noisy, ambitious, frenzied, tremendouslyexciting mixture of everything but the kitchen sink. Co-founder, keyboardist and arranger Chucho Valdes was as thoroughly attuned to the thumping electric bass, the careening buzz of asynthesizer and bell-like electric piano as he was to his homeland's complex rhythms and his own classical training -- and despite the cultural embargo, the 11-piece group was in touch withthen-current developments in American jazz/rock. "Juana Mil Ciento," curiously the only track not available on CD, comes roaring out of the box with an incendiary mix of battering Cubandrumming, Arturo Sandoval's wild trumpet and Paquito D'Rivera's wailing alto. Paquito also contributes a free-floating, sometimes slapstick fantasy on themes of Mozart. The most audaciousnumber is the 17 1/2-minute "Black Mass," which unleashes Valdes' staggering classical piano technique, knockabout rock guitar, Cuban chanting, high-wire brass, and lots of drums withoutsomehow losing its train of thought. All but one of these tracks were reissued on CD as part of The Best of Irakere; admittedly, the LP's raucous sound is a bit more exciting than the cleaned-upCD.
Around 1972, some of the members of the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra decided to form their own group, and by 1973 it had been organized into what is now known as IRAKERE. Whenthese musicians, all impeccable soloists, left the best orchestra in the country, they had but one purpose in mind: to put all their efforts into what could be called 'experimenting,' joining a trendbegun by others who were trying to renovate popular music.
Chucho Valdés (piano) and Paquito D'Rivera (alto sax & clarinet), both composers and arrangers, were, from the beginning, the main inspirers of IRAKERE. Oscar Valdés would be in charge ofgiving a different personality to the percussion section, adding to it his knowledge of ancesteral songs in African language, one of the most important and least known forms of music of the Afro-Cuban musical heritage. Other members of the group also come from Cuban Modern Music Orchestra: Emilio Morales (guitar), Carlos del Puerto (bass), Enrique Pla' (drums) and ArturoSandoval and Jorge Varona (trumpets. Later additions were Carlos Averhoff (tenor & baritone sax) Jorge Alfonso and Armando Cuervo (percussion) to complete the group as it is today.
IRAKERE has two advantages over all the other groups who have a similar musical approach: the virtuosity of its soloists, who are excellent improvisers, and then, the cohesion which comesafter playing together for many years. Chucho, Paquito and Carlos Emilio have been associated almost since the beginning of their professional careers: first in the Havana Musical TheatreOrchestra and later on in a group that was led by Chucho, which had as a vocalist Amado Borcela (Guapacha'), who has since died, and with whom they made a number of records for EGREM,earning quite a lot of popularity in the sixties. Later on they formed different quartets and quintets (with Pla', Oscar and sometimes with Sandoval or Varona) to play at sporadic concerts andfestivals in Cuba and abroad. Their most outstanding performance outside of Cuba was during the 1970 Polish Jazz Festival, where the Cubans were heard and praised for the first time byrenowned jazz artists like Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan.
But let us leave IRAKERE's past history and come to present times. After having become the most brilliant and solid group within the new stream in Cuban music, they met, during the (one andonly) Jazz Cruise's stay in Havana in 1977, (such luminaries as) Stan Getz, who had come to Cuba often during the fifties, and Dizzy Gillespie, who strangely had never visited the country of hiscollaborator, Chano Pozo. The interest and enthusiasm that IRAKERE stirred up among the members of the Cruise - including musicians, jazz critics and producers - was like a preview of whatwould happen during the group's tour through the United States and Switzerland during June/July, 1978, and outstanding performances at the Newport and Montreux Jazz Festivals.
Japanese Edition
The press reviews that appeared in The New York Times, and San Francisco Examiner and Billboard, were very enthusiastic about IRAKERE, but a few questions arose that showed that therewas some confusion. Is it really jazz that IRAKERE plays? Has it anything to do with "salsa"? Can the group be classified as "Latin-jazz-rock'' or as ''Latin-fusion'' or ''salsa-fusion"?
The truth is that although the majority of the IRAKERE musicians have played jazz for many years, they have more experience and more solid roots in Cuban music. And the presence of Cubain IRAKERE is not only in its percussion, it is also in its way of playing: in the phrasing, in the attack and sense of rhythm of the soloists, as well as in whole passages.
Our novelist, Alejo Carpentier, who is also a renowned authority on music, has said that Cuban popular music is "the only music that can be compared with 'Jazz in the 20th century.' Is it notstrange that these two musical forms have been compared so frequently. Their affinity comes from before the existence of jazz as such. We know all about the history of the beginnings of jazz,but we don't always associate it with the ending of slavery in Cuba, between 1880 and 1889, and the massive immigration of black Cubans, free but jobless, to places like New Orleans. Neitheris it unusual that along with French and English names, one finds among the first jazz musicians names that show their Spanish roots (Lorenzo Tio, Luis Tio, Manuel Perez, Willy Marrero, PaulDominguez), nor that Jelly Roll Morton, when asked about where jazz came from, included Cuba among its places of origin.
More well known are the international influences of the habanera and the rumba, until we come to the 1940s and 1950s, the Cubop era. During this period, the impact caused by the meetingbetween Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie can be added to the influences of Machito, Perez Prado, Mario Bauzá, Mongo Santamaria, Chico O'Farrill and many others. The "fusion'' betweenelements of jazz and Cuban music has a long history having nothing to do with the more recent merging of jazz and rock, which sometimes adds certain so-called ''Latin'' elements which are inreality, Afro Cuban or Afro-Caribbean. As far as salsa is concerned, it is 99 percent Cuban music of the '40s and '50s. This is why if IRAKERE are jazz musicians, they are so in a verysubstantially Cuban way.
If Chucho Valdés was familiar with the piano styles of Horace Silver or Bill Evans more than ten years ago, he also knew the peculiarities of the son, the contradanza and the danzón. At timeswe here reminiscences of Art Tatum in some passages, yet the other side of Chucho's style is given by his mastery of Cuban classical piano: Cervantes and Samuell in the 19th century andLecuona in the 20th, and in a more popular vein, Antonio Maria Romeu. Going down this road, who knows if, with the coming of IRAKERE onto the musical scene, we are getting to the roots andto the redevelopment, with a newer viewpoint, of practically inexhaustible materials.
Chucho's compositions, as well as those of other members of the group, reflect a receptiveness; to what is going on internationally, including free jazz and the so-called European musicalvanguard. They put these to work as a form of personal expression, underlined by the knowledgeable use of rhythms that have African origins and which are mixed and renovated with greatoriginality. One of the contributions has been to incorporate, into a musical context that once only accepted Congo and Dahomeyan elements, the intricate and vigorous Yoruba and Carabalirhythms which have been well known in Cuba but which had not been "integrated'' into the mainstream of our music. Another characteristic of these compositions are the frequent changes intime and atmosphere, a typical element in Yoruba music. "Misa Negra" ("Black Mass"), is perhaps the best example of this, although it can also be heard in "Ilya,''"Aguanile'' and others.
As to the individual contribution by each soloist, we must let them speak for themselves. You can't deny Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval owe a lot to Parker and Gillespie, but can there bea more logical debt?
In Paquito's explosive sense of humor, the fierce intensity of Arturo, and Chucho's controlled lyricism, we find very personal facets in their playing. Like IRAKERE, there are many other youngCuban musicians who also play jazz in a style deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean music and who at the same time have definite personal styles. IRAKERE is an outstanding example within a realmusical 'explosion.' Which is saying a lot.
Alto Saxophone – Carlos Emilio Morales, Paquito D'Rivera
Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet – Paquito D'Rivera
Bass, Tuba – Carlos del Puerto
Congas [Tumba] – Jorge Alfonso, Oscar Valdés
Piano, Organ – Chucho Valdés
Drums – Bernardo García
Flute – Carlos Averhoff, Paquito D'Rivera
Guiro, Shekere, Tambourine – Carlos Barbón
Guitar – Carlos Emilio Morales
Percussion – Bernardo García, Carlos Barbón, Jorge Alfonso, Jorge Varona, Oscar Valdés
Soprano Saxophone – Carlos Averhoff, Paquito D'Rivera
Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Carlos Averhoff
Timbales [Paila], Bongos, Vocals – Oscar Valdés
Trumpet, Valve Trombone – Jorge Varona
Using multiple covers for the same album is one of EGREM's favorite tricks, but in this case they outdid themselves, releasing two albums, at least 2 years apart, with different numbers (LD-3660 and LD-3926), the same covers, and different tracklists.
It's hard to say why this happened, but when EGREM issued the egregiously under-documented 11-CD La colección, they very unfortunately used LD-3926, calling it Vol. 3, even though most orall of its tracks were recorded and released before the album they called Vol. 2. To further complicate matters, this same series of tracks was released time and time again on a variety of foreignlabels, with conflicting dates of course, and many of the tracks are also released on live albums from the same time period, (as well as on studio albums entitled "En vivo"!).
In any case, the song in question, Chékere-son, is an extremely interesting one. It's based on a legendary 1945 Charlie Parker be-bop composition called Billie's Bounce. Almost every phrase ofthe Parker song can be found in Chekere-son but it's all jumbled together in a very clever and compelling way. David Peñalosa (author of the soon-to-be-released Unlocking Clave) sees thetrack as a pivotal one - perhaps the first really satisfying fusion of clave and bebop horn lines, a central element of the style of NG La Banda in the early days of timba. The easiest way to obtainChéquere-son is on the compilation CD of the same name. It also has the rest of the tracks from 3660 except, unfortunately, Juana 1600, another of Irakere's more successful fusions - graftingthe batá rhythm Babalú ayé onto another aggressive up-tempo dance grooove.
Italian Issue
So much of what I've read about this band focuses on their Grammy-winning North American breakthrough, as if the first time North Americans heard this music was the first time it was reallyvital and worth listening to. And I do understand that distribution was a different beast in the '70s, but still, it's a little rich to tell everyone that the first album Columbia released by this band istheir "best."
Anyway, I bring this up because, in searching for their North American debut, I found, instead, this gem, their second release. (Their North American debut was either their 4th or their 7th,depending on which discography you consult.) And...well, what can I say? This is awesome stuff.
I recently listened to Azymuth, a Brazilian band doing a similar thing (combining local music with contemporary jazz) and was sorely disappointed. Maybe it's me, but this music is far more alive,more more alive and far more "jazz" than that. (I don't mean to spend this whole thing bashing Azymuth, I just think of them as a useful comparison, given their fame.)
This music combines traditional music and Latin Jazz with a healthy dose of James Brown plus Jazz Fusion and other strains of jazz (such as Cool). The sound varies, sometimes drastically,from track to track, with the composer. And it seems like their collective nature has a lot to do with the diversity of this record.
But anyway, the vitality of this stuff is incredible. This is a band that can seemingly do anything and which brings a sense of fun missing from a lot of contemporary jazz.
Alto Saxophone – Carlos Emilio Morales, Paquito D'Rivera
Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet – Paquito D'Rivera
Bass, Tuba – Carlos del Puerto
Congas [Tumba] – Jorge Alfonso, Oscar Valdés
Piano, Organ – Chucho Valdés
Drums – Bernardo García
Flute – Carlos Averhoff, Paquito D'Rivera
Guiro, Shekere, Tambourine – Carlos Barbón
Guitar – Carlos Emilio Morales
Percussion – Bernardo García, Carlos Barbón, Jorge Alfonso, Jorge Varona, Oscar Valdés
Soprano Saxophone – Carlos Averhoff, Paquito D'Rivera
Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Carlos Averhoff
Timbales [Paila], Bongos, Vocals – Oscar Valdés
Trumpet, Valve Trombone – Jorge Varona
Led by ace pianist Jesús "Chucho" Valdés, Irakere plays traditional Cuban rhythms and jazz with equal proficiency, throwing in pinches of everything from rock to disco to Mozart. Irakere hasgone through innumerable horn and wind players - including world-famous soloists like Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval and José Luis Cortés - since their first big hit, 1974's guitar-driven"Bacalao Con Pan" (though their rhythm section has remained admirably stable) and continued to perform all over the world through the 90s. (Since then, Valdés has focused on solo work.) Forall the accolades the group and its members have received, I think Valdés's sense of humor has been overlooked: as serious as he takes his music, there's always a playful spirit at work, asheard in tunes like "Rucu Rucu A Santa Clara" or 1998's cover of "Feliz Cumpleaños."
Chucho Valdés had been playing jazz with various future members of Irakere throughout the 60s, but it wasn't until 1973 that they began to play under the name Irakere. By 1974 Valdés hadassembled a crack dance band that ranged easily into fusion and pop: Most of Irakere's core was on hand, though Sandoval had not yet joined and Bernardo García was on drums rather thanPlá. The band's first hit was the uptempo fusion number "Bacalao Con Pan" (by Raúl Valdés), driven by wah-wah guitar and a vocal chant; "Taka Taka-Ta" is similar - from the chord progressionup - and arguably better, thanks to a wild organ solo from Valdés.
According to UC Irvine musicologist and Irakere expert Raúl A. Fernández:
“Irakere was not really a formal group yet when "Bacalao con pan" was recorded. The Orquesta Nacional de Música Moderna was on a tour of Oriente Province, and had spent a few days inSantiago de Cuba. Some of the members, who had been rehearsing some ideas, stayed behind. In Santiago, a local music producer, composer and musician, Rodulfo Vaillant gave them a localstudio to do a couple of recordings. One of those was "Bacalao con pan." The boys could not have recorded the tune in Havana, they were fairly controlled by the Orquesta de Música Modernathere. But somehow the tune made it from Santiago to radio stations in Havana where it became a hit; Irakere was formally organized a little bit later.”
Pablo Menéndez (Mezcla) recalls the first time he heard Bacalao con pan:
"Irakere were jazz musicians who played stuff like "Bacalao con pan" with a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude -- 'for the masses'. I remember Paquito d'Rivera bringing a tape of the first four songsof Irakere over to the ICAIC, where he sometimes played with our group. He thought it was pretty funny stuff (as opposed to 'serious' stuff)."
What's most striking to me is the sophisticated way the band worked with the unsophisticated recording equipment at their disposal: Ernesto Lecuona's "Danza De Los Ñañigos" is arranged withfuzz guitar opposite trumpet, sky-high wordless vocals from Ele Valdés, and echoey plucked bass under everything, and somehow emerges as an unbearably gorgeous pop song. "Quindiambo"confronts the same limitations with the sort of exuberant excess I adore: enough hooks to power five songs are condensed into one, including one of the best breaks I've ever heard.
While it's still an issue of some controversy, Chucho himself said, in the Latin Jazz Founders documentary, that 4 musicians generally considered to be founding members of Irakere did notrecord on the first official Irakere album, Areíto LD-3420, (La colección, Vol. 1), due to mandatory military service. Instead of Enrique Pla on drums, it was Bernardo García. The conguero wasnot El Niño, but his older brother, Lázaro "El Tato" Alfonso. And the horn section consisted only of Varona and Averhoff, with Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval still marching to the beat ofmilitary drums.
The first album was released in early 1974 as Areíto LD-3420. EGREM released the same 8 tracks, with the same catalog number, with at least three different covers!
The text "Teatro Amadeo Roldán - Recital" has led the incorrect conclusion that the album was recorded live. Even more subversively confusing is the back cover of the second LP above.Perhaps EGREM was inspired by the Beatles'"Paul is dead" cover art chicanery.
The three guys at the top are trumpeter Jorge Varona, Chucho, and saxophonist Carlos Averhoff. So far, so good, but below them, from left to right, we have four musicians who, according toChucho himself, didn't play on the album: Enrique Pla (according to Chucho the drummer was Bernardo García), a very svelte Arturo Sandoval (holding Paquito's saxophone to further confuseus), Paquito D'Rivera (holding Arturo's trumpet), and El Niño, who hadn't yet joined when the tracks were recorded. To the right are guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales, bassist Carlos del Puerto, andsinger/percussionist Oscar Valdés.
The 8 tracks were reissued on the CD La colección, Vol. 1, and on multiple compilations and foreign vinyl reissues. In our Roots of Timba section we review our two favorite tracks: Bacalao conpan and Quindiambo. The latter, paired with La verdad, appears on one of the few 45s we've been able to find by Irakere. Oddly, another, 6902, pairs the La verdad with Valle de la picadura. theonly other single we know of was 7529, from about 1982, with Los caramelos and Que se sepa yo soy de la Habana. There must be more singles and EPs out there, and if you know of one,please send an email! We're also very interested in confirming that the 45s have the same recordings as the LP. We think the do, but around that time, Los Van Van made a habit or doingseparate recording sessions for their singles and albums
Confused enough yet? Just wait!
When I started listening to the band in the early 80s it was nearly impossible to figure out their discography; now, thanks to resources like Spotify, Timba.com and Patrick Dalmace's excellentChucho Valdés discography, it's much easier. Though I'm still unaware of the original sources of a few things... So all help, corrections and extra information is more than welcome!
Bulgarian Edition Cover
By 1974 Valdés had assembled a crack dance band that ranged easily into fusion and pop: Most of Irakere's core was on hand, though Sandoval had not yet joined and Bernardo García was on drums rather than Plá. The band's first hit was the uptempo fusion number "Bacalao Con Pan" (by Raúl Valdés), driven by wah-wah guitar and a vocal chant; "Taka Taka-Ta" is similar - from the chord progression up - and arguably better, thanks to a wild organ solo from Valdés. What's most striking to me is the sophisticated way the band worked with the unsophisticated recording equipment at their disposal: Ernesto Lecuona's "Danza De Los Ñañigos" is arranged with fuzz guitar opposite trumpet, sky-high wordless vocals from Ele Valdés, and echoey plucked bass under everything, and somehow emerges as an unbearably gorgeous pop song. "Quindiambo" confronts the same limitations with the sort of exuberant excess I adore: enough hooks to power five songs are condensed into one, including one of the best breaks I've ever heard.
The energetic material here, features the great Roy Haynes leading a killer funky date with Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson on trumpet, George Adams on tenor saxophone, bassist Don Pate, congquero Lawrence Killian pianist Carl Schroeder and guitarist Roland Price. Adams wrote two stellar numbers on the set in "Silly Willie" and Full Moon, while Haynes and Peterson contributed one each. This set is a burner, featruing Haynes in an entirely new light
A real standout in the career of drummer Roy Haynes – and a sweet set of spiritual jazz from the 70s, unlike most other albums that Haynes ever cut! The lineup here is totally great – with George Adams on tenor, Marvin Peterson on trumpet, and Roland Prince on guitar – and the set has a slightly electric groove that blends beautifully with the soaring acoustic solo work by the main players – in a style that's strongly reminiscent of the best work on Strata East, Black Jazz, or Muse at the time! This album's definitely one of the few times that Mainstream really got things "right" in the studio – and Haynes is superb at the helm of the group, making things come off with a great sense of exploratory creativity
Roy Haynes, among the greatest and most influential drummers in the history of jazz, died on Tuesday in Nassau County, N.Y., on the South Shore of Long Island. He was 99.
His death, after a brief illness, was confirmed by his daughter, Leslie Haynes-Gilmore. She declined to specify where in the county he died.
Mr. Haynes was an irrepressible force who proudly remained both relevant and stylish over a career spanning seven decades, having had a hand in every major development in modern jazz, beginning in the bebop era. Remarkably, he did so without significant alterations to his style, which was characterized by a bracing clarity — Snap Crackle was the nickname bestowed on him in the 1950s — along with locomotive energy and a slippery but emphatic flow.
Few musicians ever worked with so broad an array of jazz legends. Mr. Haynes recorded with the quintessential swing-era tenor saxophonist Lester Young as well as the contemporary guitarist Pat Metheny. He was briefly but prominently associated with the singer Sarah Vaughan, and with some of bebop’s chief pioneers, notably the alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and the pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk.
And he appeared on dozens of albums, including many regarded as classics, among them Eric Dolphy’s “Outward Bound” (1960), Oliver Nelson’s “The Blues and the Abstract Truth” (1961), Stan Getz’s “Focus” (1962) and Chick Corea’s “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” (1968).
Mr. Haynes made a handful of highly regarded albums as a leader, including “We Three,” a 1958 trio session with the pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. and the bassist Paul Chambers, and “Out of the Afternoon,” a 1962 date with Rahsaan Roland Kirk (then known as just Roland Kirk) on reeds, Tommy Flanagan on piano and Henry Grimes on bass. He led a series of assertive working bands over the years, notably the Hip Ensemble, which courted the funkier side of fusion in the 1970s.
More recently he connected with collaborators many years his junior, like the trumpeter Roy Hargrove and the bassist Christian McBride. In 2000, he released “The Roy Haynes Trio,” featuring the pianist Danilo Pérez and the bassist John Patitucci. A few years later, he formed the Fountain of Youth band with players in their 20s and 30s; that group appears on his last album, “Roy-Alty,” released on the Dreyfus label in 2011.
Mr. Haynes was one of the first jazz drummers to make expressive use of his left foot on the hi-hat pedal, breaking away from a metronomic stomp on beats two and four. He brought a similar freedom of purpose to his snare and bass drum, with punchy accents that suggested a continuing conversation set against the pulse of his ride cymbal.
His flexible articulation of tempo, and his departure from the rigid framework of four- and eight-bar phrases, set a precedent adopted by countless others — from Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette, both born in the 1940s, to the generation that includes his grandson Marcus Gilmore, born in 1986.
Panache was a also trademark for Mr. Haynes, who nurtured a fondness for flashy cars and clothes throughout his adult life. He bought his first automobile, an Oldsmobile convertible, in 1950, and took pride in wowing Charlie Parker with it. In 1960, he was named one of the best-dressed men in America by Esquire magazine, on a list that also included Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Miles Davis.
A presence on the jazz scene even in what many would consider retirement age, he performed and recorded into his 80s. He did voice-over work for the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, playing himself as the host of a radio station whose motto was “Jazz from a time before it became elevator music.”
Roy Owen Haynes was born on March 13, 1925, in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, the third of four sons of Gus and Edna (Payne) Haynes. The couple had moved to the area from Barbados.
Roy gravitated to the drums early, taking lessons with Herbert Wright, who lived on the same street and had been a member of James Reese Europe’s band the 369th Infantry Hellfighters. On record, Mr. Haynes found a lifelong hero in Jo Jones, the drummer with Count Basie.
He worked steadily around Boston as a teenager and landed a job with the Luis Russell band, which brought him to New York. There he found himself in demand as a sideman and became a regular at jam sessions, including one, at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, that drew most of the young proponents of bebop. He worked with Lester Young from 1947 to 1949 before inheriting Max Roach’s vital role in the Charlie Parker Quartet.
Because innovations in rhythm were at the heart of bebop — and because Mr. Haynes worked with both Mr. Parker, the music’s pied piper, and Mr. Monk, its so-called high priest — he quickly gained a reputation as a first-rate bop drummer.
One famous photograph, by Robert Parent, depicts him onstage with Mr. Parker, Mr. Monk and the bassist Charles Mingus at the Open Door in Greenwich Village in 1953. (Mr. Haynes was the last living participant in that session.) He played on “The Amazing Bud Powell,” Volumes 1 and 2, in a band that also included the tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and the trumpeter Fats Navarro.
But bebop was always only one side of Mr. Haynes, who began a five-year affiliation with Sarah Vaughan in 1953, establishing his sensitivity and grace as an accompanist. And the shrewdly roomy music he played with a Monk quartet at the Five Spot Café in Manhattan, documented on a pair of albums recorded there, hardly fit bebop’s frenetic reputation.
During the 1960s, he played an integral role in the development of experimental post-bop, courting abstraction in ways that left a strong momentum intact. He played on a series of consequential albums in this vein, including Mr. Corea’s “Now He Sings,” one of the defining modern piano trio albums; the alto saxophonist Jackie McLean’s “Destination … Out!” (1964) and “It’s Time!” (1965); the pianist Andrew Hill’s “Black Fire (1964) and “Smokestack” (1966); and “Reaching Fourth” (1963), by the pianist McCoy Tyner.
From time to time he played alongside Mr. Tyner in the John Coltrane Quartet, serving as a backup whenever the band’s regular drummer, Elvin Jones, was unable to perform. His most prominent turn in the Coltrane band came during the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival.
Mr. Haynes was less central to the jazz-rock boom of the 1970s, though he had played on several pertinent albums by the vibraphonist Gary Burton that prefigured the style, the earliest of which was released in 1966. The Hip Ensemble, which he introduced with an album by the same name in 1971, branched out into fusion, earning him younger fans. But the style he favored most in his working bands was a driving, harmonically open variant on post-bop.
After recording the Pat Metheny album “Question and Answer” in 1990, Mr. Haynes featured Mr. Metheny on an album of his own, “Te-Vou!” (Dreyfus), alongside Mr. McBride, the alto saxophonist Donald Harrison and the pianist David Kikoski.
The amount of time Mr. Haynes spent in long-term sideman posts early in his career, notably with Sarah Vaughan, may have cost him a degree of renown; for some time he was overshadowed by peers like Max Roach and Elvin Jones. But he appreciated the stability that he was able to provide his family. He bought a house on Long Island, where he and his wife, Jesse Lee Nevels Haynes, raised three children. His wife died in 1979.
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his sons, Craig, a drummer, and Graham, a cornetist; eight grandchildren, including Mr. Gilmore; and seven great-grandchildren.
In the renown department, Mr. Haynes later made up for lost time, especially from the 1990s on, when he stepped up his performing and recording schedule and began accruing accolades. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1995. In 2000, he shared his second Grammy Award, for the album “Like Minds,” with Mr. Burton, Mr. Corea, Mr. Metheny and the bassist Dave Holland. He had won his first Grammy 12 years earlier, for his participation in the McCoy Tyner album “Blues for Coltrane.”
Mr. Haynes took part in his own Jazz at Lincoln Center tribute concert in 2010, and he received lifetime achievement awards from the Recording Academy in 2011 and the Jazz Foundation of America in 2019.
Two other events illustrated the breadth of Mr. Haynes’s life in jazz. In 2010, he participated in an 80th-birthday concert for Mr. Rollins, at one point backing both the guest of honor and Ornette Coleman, the alto saxophonist and free-jazz pioneer, in their first onstage exchange.
And in 2011, Mr. Haynes appeared on the “Late Show With David Letterman” with the Fountain of Youth band. He briskly played “Summer Nights,” a track from the 1992 album “When It’s Haynes It Roars,” looking busy but collected under the stage lights, in an ornately patterned suit jacket, a crisp shirt and tie, and wraparound reflective sunglasses.
By Nate Chinen
A version of this article appears in print on the NY Times on Nov. 14, 2024, Section B, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Roy Haynes, 99, One of the Greatest Drummers in Jazz History, Is Dead.
Returning to the leader's chair after a seven-year absence, drummer Roy Haynes signed with Boplicity and released Hip Ensemble in 1971. Named after the group Haynes led at the time -- a group that featured George Adams on saxophone and flute, Marvin Peterson on trumpet, Mervin Bronson on bass, and Carl Schroeder on keys -- the title Hip Ensemble somewhat gives away the game: this is now music, perched halfway between the out futurism that was Haynes' specialty while playing with Archie Shepp, Jackie McLean, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette and the fusion that was creeping into the most adventurous aspects of '70s jazz. There are still aspects of pretty, lyrical restraint but the kinetic polyrhythms where Haynes intertwines with percussionists Elwood Johnson and Lawrence Killian provide a lively foundation for the bursts of brass colored by cool electric piano. It all culminates in the nine-minute two-part "You Name It/Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," a civil rights anthem that evokes its era, but the restlessness of Hip Ensemble makes for a compelling session in any year.
Drummer Roy Haynes works here with an ensemble that's definitely as hip as the title promises -- a really righteous group that makes the album one of Roy's most spiritual records ever! Haynes was always a drummer who was really a cut above, even back at the start -- but here, he really steps out strongly with a new musical vision for the 70s -- working with a lineup that includes George Adams on tenor and flute and Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet -- but players who give the music a really bold feel, right from the start! The rest of the lineup is wonderful, too -- as Carl Schroeder plays Fender Rhodes with this flowing vibe that's plenty soulful -- alongside bass from Teruo Nakamura and Mervin Bronson, conga from Lawrence Kilian, bongo from Elwood Johnson, and more drums from Haynes himself. Titles include a sublime reading of Stanley Cowell's "Equipoise"
Augusta Lee Collins - (drums, talking drum, percussion)
Kenneth Nash - (congas, bongos, vocals)
Guest Artist:
Mcheza Ngoma - (vocals, steel drums, percussion)
Recorded at His Master's Wheels Studio in November, 1975.
Yet another great lost black group of the '70s, the Pyramids grabbed what the Art Ensemble was dealing and put a California twist on it. The result is something thoroughly enjoyable and soaked with enough musicianship and Eastern influence to claim a small corner of R&B as their own. This is good stuff, and if you're into the groove Archie Shepp or Pharoah Sanders put down in the '70s, this could well be something you'll dig. Those who've tired of the whole large-ensemble funk thing and want a little harder edge will probably groove to this too.
Birth/Speed/Merging, originally released in 1976, represents the San Francisco Bay Area era of the band. Relocating from Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1974, The Pyramids quickly met other musicians in the thriving San Francisco Bay Area music scene. "The Pyramids, a criminally under-recognised spiritual jazz collective, were birthed at the dawn of the 1970s in Ohio, and included saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, flautist Margo Simmons, bassist Kimathi Asante and drummer Donald Robinson. Delving deep into a world of pan-African rhythms and melodies, they combined them in novel ways with the psychedelic modal jazz simmering in America at the time. The group released three private-press records in the US throughout the 70s, highly regarded by collectors, which consistently fetched incredibly large sums of money."
They Play to make the soul Burst out of the Body. - Vassime
"Recorded in the Country" at Appalachia Sound Recording Studio, Chillicothe, Ohio in March, 1974.
African Statue, courtesy Marvin Jones, Acirfa Company, 1137 E. 50th St., Chicago, Ill.
Some people in America think of jazz and funk as East Coast/West Coast concepts--record companies, clubs, and musicians tend to be based on one or the other. After all, there couldn’t be much of interest coming out of the Midwest, could there? Wrong--in the early 1970s, the Ohio band the Pyramids were laying down sounds that stand the test of time. They mixed jazz (free, bop, and fusion) with powerful funk grooves and elements of African styles. KING OF KINGS has a slightly higher soul/R&B quotient than their other discs, but make no mistake--their singularly powerful, driving, and inclusive approach to rhythm glows throughout.
If you had given me 100 guesses as to where this african spiritual jazz group was from, rural ohio would not have been in those 100 guesses - the world can still surprise me. i've spent my entire life in this state not too far from where they're from and i've never heard about them before, but i'm glad i did. this is some very wild sounding jazz where the frantic percussion and hypnotic bass lines are the star of the show. on top of the frenetic drums, there's enough atonal free jazz to keep things just constantly feeling on the verge of falling apart. sometimes it sort of does, but never before finding a thrilling conclusion. this record never stops being interesting for a single minute of its runtime.
Its stunning that this came out of some college in Rural Ohio, the authenticity and originality rivals some of the best spiritual Jazz, and its done in a way that personally appeals to me immensely. The energy of this album immediately fixes a core issue that I've faced with some Spiritual Jazz, which I often find to be much more loose and flowing, by tightening up the core backings of the album and upping a lot of the intensity. Immediately you can hear just how fantastic the bass and percussion are on this album, both of which stand out as the pillars that allow it to succeed and the pieces of the album that I'm most excited for, with phenomenal basslines and solo's from Kwame, and an absolute plethora of layered percussion that featured both the traditional jazz drum set (Which was played near perfect) and a number of other Afro-Jazz Djembe and Bongos that added enormous percussive depth to the music. The lead instrumentals were obviously fantastic as well, the Flute on Queen of the Spirits was enormously energetic and impressive, the assorted horns featured as leads throughout the album were inspiringly rich and complex, and piano, while a bit rarer as a lead, added a lot more smooth sound to an album that I think would otherwise lack it. Another thing I loved about this album were the vocals fills, despite their simplicity I think they added a ton of authenticity and character to the album, and they felt fully integral to the character and energy of the album.
The album art is super simple but works very effectively, I like the black and white, I like the composition of the photo, and I like the contrast between the light photo and the black title band. Overall, very interesting and well done jazz, I think its one of those albums that sort of bridges the gap between my likes and dislikes for the genre (broadly speaking) and allows me to like more Jazz generally, with everything sounding really great throughout and being super original.
King of Kings was recorded at Appalachia Sound Recording Studio located several hours away from Antioch in Chillicothe, Ohio. Unknown to the band at the time, Chillicothe was the site of ancient Indian burial mounds. This reality added to the very spiritual quality of the recording. The opening track "Mogho Naba" continued the group's fascination and interest in African history and reflections. The Mogho Naba is the King of the Mossi people in what is now Burkina Faso, but dates back in antiquity. The tune's rhythm is infectious. The use of call and response chants and beautiful horn lines is meant to hypnotize and induce trance-elevating spiritual consciousness. "Queen of the Spirits" was written as a dedication to flautist Margaux Simmons. It is one of the band's favorite pieces of music. Utilizing the Ugandan harp, the African one-string fiddle (goge), percussion, piano, and cello, the closing is prescient harking to world music and music for meditation that would come years later. The UK band Bonobo sampled a section of the composition for their European hit album Days to Come.
The debut album by the Pyramids was inspired by the group's visit to the Lalibela monastery in Egypt, and was recorded in Yellow Springs, Ohio in early 1973. Drawing on the teachings of Cecil Taylor and the influence of John Coltrane, combined with a barrage of intense percussion, the album evolves over several long-form pieces,
The Pyramids released three albums before splitting up in 1977. Lalibela (1973) was the first album recorded by The Pyramids following their landmark journey throughout Africa as students from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The album is one of the first cutting-edge "concept" albums, as each side of the LP seamlessly flows from one composition to the next in the vein of a suite painting a musical portrait of the African adventure experienced by founding members Idris Ackamoor, Margaux Simmons, and Kimathi Asante. Lalibela, Ethiopia was the inspiration for the album. A journey to experience the 12th-century rock churches of Lalibela by Margaux and Idris closed out their nine-month African odyssey. The personnel for the recording was augmented by new members percussionist Bradie Speller (Hekaptah), drummer Marcel Lytle, and soprano saxophonist Tony Owens (Masai). The album has plenty percussion-driven rhythms, beautiful alto sax and flute melodies, soaring and "out" improvisations, ritualistic chants, meditative tone pieces, high energy modal jams, and exotic African instruments collected during the African trip.
The rhythm section on this album is very relentless and interesting. There are some soaring modal flute/sax unison melodies being played over it as well as some really cool bass riffing and a few tumbling squealing freakouts. Throughout each side the group shows restraint, maintains an ecstatic level of energy and keeps things dynamic. The African percussion instruments compliment the drum kit and propel the album along in a majestic manner. Really great stuff.
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