Dollar Brand - 1975 - African Herbs

Dollar Brand

1975

African Herbs

01. African Herbs

02. Sathima

03. Soweto Is Where It's At

Alto Saxophone – Barney Rachabane (tracks: A2, B)

Bass – Basil Moses (tracks: A1), Sipho Gumede (tracks: A2, B)

Drums – Gilbert Mathews (tracks: A1), Peter Morake (tracks: A2, B)

Electric Piano – Dollar Brand (tracks: A1)

Piano – Dollar Brand (tracks: A2, B)

Soprano Saxophone – Dollar Brand (tracks: A1)

Tenor Saxophone – Basil 'Mannenberg' Coetzee*, Duku Makasi (tracks: A2, B)

Trumpet – Dennis Mpale (tracks: A2, B)

Growing up with parents who worked in close proximity to Cape Town, as well as having family living at the edge of Cape Town, meant having semi-regular visits to the city and its surrounding areas in my early youth. That entire area is beautiful, even the historically disenfranchised areas. What's unmistakable about Cape Town is its flavor, its sounds. Cape Jazz was a style of music that to me was mostly background music. It was always there somewhere, scoring my childhood. I think that's why I never had that much interest in it, I never saw it as anything special, it was just there, a ubiquitous sound, found on radios, televisions and live performances.

But lately though, Cape Jazz has really been fulfilling a musical need of mine, and I keep gravitating towards its sometimes bright, flavorful sound. This is how I finally developed a proper appreciation for Abdullah Ibrahim, a man I think I always knew about but saw as one of those stuffy old South African icons that you keep seeing on the back of South African Classics Compilation CD's. Upon hearing Soweto for the first time (and not as background noise, but like really hearing it, or rather listening to it) a whole world of nostalgia opened up. It's the sound of childhood, sounds of hope, innocence, community, its the sound of South Africa and its beautiful .

African Herbs' just has that distinctive Cape Town atmosphere. It's so warm and uplifting. It's the sound of a hot summers day with your family. 'Sathima' is great as well, but it feels somewhat more nocturnal, but just as warm and inviting. There's a type of optimism in the music, a type of optimism that South Africa was in dire need at the time, considering the Apartheid regime and racial unrest. In that darkness, that unavoidable darkness, Ibrahim creates music that sparks joy and gives just a little hope that things can and will be better. It's important, maybe even essential to express pain and frustration through music as a form of resistance, but joy can be an act of resistance too. And that's what this album is.

'Soweto' is undoubtedly the highlight from the record and is basically a South African standard. It's incredibly iconic and that main melody is the stuff of legend. There is something heart-warming about a Cape (Town) Jazz song that's dedicated to a township that's all the way on the other side of the country, which is also completely landlocked. It speaks to a sense of solidarity and unity. And what a beautiful ode it is. I actually wish that Ibrahim put Mannenberg and Soweto on the same record, which are both iconic but somewhat overlooked areas that carry a lot of tragic history. 'Mannenberg' maybe has the same iconic status as 'Soweto', more so actually. Despite the blooming optimism and hopefulness of the song, it is a heart breaking piece of music in context. The following year after this record's release were the infamous Soweto Uprisings, which were black student led protests that were in response to the Afrikaans Medium Decree, requiring all black schools to use Afrikaans as the language of education, despite this not being many students first or even second language. The Uprisings eventually led to the death of 176 to 700 students due to the violent response of the South African police force. It's an event that has permanently been branded into the consciousness of South Africa. So the optimism and hopefulness of Ibrahim's 'Soweto' becomes the means of mourning at a time of great tragedy. That song is forever tied to that history. It becomes much more than an ode to a community, it becomes a wish for better days and a brighter future. A thin strip of light in the darkness.

South Africa would eventually see better days and I think this album's relevancy remains unshaken. There's still that need for optimism and SA is a lot closer to what it could be than it was before. South Africa is far from perfect, one can get depressed looking at the state of things. But in African Herbs, I just get this sense that we'll be ok, that there's always hope for a better tommorow. And for that, I can't help but be thankful to Abdullah Ibrahim. So thank you Abdullah Ibrahim, for a perfect and forever important record

Yes this sounds jazzy and African to me. The African flavor is in the flow, the easy percussion and basslines that reminds me of the fast merengue of Cabu Verde.

On the cover A.I. Brand is portrayed with a soprano sax which the liner notes say he plays on the titletrack. All I hear is tenor sax though. I do hear Brand playing his electric piano, it sounds like a Harpsichord.

These three 10+ minute tracks are mostly free flowing jazzy sax improvs on a static backdrop. There's some piano introductions & eruptions and the occasional trumpet solo. Sometimes it sound almost poppy or like a lo-fi bigband. Unfortunately there's not enough development going on for a lasting interest. 'Soweto' is downright boring after a couple of minutes.