The Southern University Jazz Ensemble - 1973 - Goes to Africa With Love

The Southern University Jazz Ensemble 

1973

Goes to Africa With Love

01. Samba Dee

02. Ah Ja Ge Da Ba

03. Clean Air

04. Music Came

05. Nanigo

06. Holdin' Meetin'

Bass – Charles Singleton

Clarinet, Vocals – Alvin Batiste

Congas – Bennie Robertson

Congas, Electronics – George Mitchell

Congas, Vocals – Juan Mosquera

Drums – Herman Jackson

Guitar – Alphonso Rodriguez

Organ – Antonio York

Percussion – Richard Hunter

Saxophone – James McElroy

Trumpet – Ernest Nation, Willie Singleton

Vocals – Eddie Perkins

That one of the great Spiritual Jazz albums of the era could be found in duplicate New Orleans thrift store in the 1980s goes a long way in illustrating the lack of acclaim this special and overlooked album maintained, even in a city where the Batiste name is musical royalty. The Southern University albums Alvin Batiste offered the world were novelies, not worthy of serious consideration, a moment captured, but not necessarily worthy of being collected or preserved by anyone not immediately involved in its creation.

That changes now. With the release of the two Southern University albums, Now-Again continues a conversation begun with the late Kashmere Stage Band director Conrad O. Johnson and the issue of his high school students’ music as 'Texas Thunder Soul', and the continued belief that beautiful music created by youth – even under the most adverse circumstances – can always inspire us.

A really incredible spiritual jazz treasure from the New Orleans scene – one that features a student group led by legendary Nola musician Alvin Batiste, but delivered in a style that's much more like some of the hipper jazz collectives in cities like Detroit, Chicago, or Philly at the time! The tracks are long and flowing – filled with rhythm progressions that run deep, often with some modal energy – and almost all tracks have these really great vocals from Eddie Perkins, a soulful singer with a style that's in the territory of Andy Bey or Joe Lee Wilson – which, as you can imagine, makes for a really great addition to the music! Other players include Batiste on clarinet, James McElroy on soprano, Ernest Nation on trumpet, Alphonso Rodriguez on guitar, Richard Hunter on percussion, and a young Charlie Singleton on bass – and this rare set was only originally given away as a souvenir for the group's trip to West Africa in 1973.