Cousin Wash & Ndiko - 1971 - Cousin Wash the Story Teller & Ndiko the Musician

Cousin Wash & Ndiko

1971

The Environmental Studies Project presents Cousin Wash the Story Teller & Ndiko the Musician

01. Adam's Innocence

02. How My Black Sway-Back Pony Became Sway-Back

03. The Butterfly Trees

04. Dory Miller

Recorded At – Lincoln Intermediate School, Berkeley, CA

Bass – Bill

Electric Bass – Kent

Flute – Splunky

Flute, Percussion – Kenneth Nash

Percussion – Hassan

Piano, Percussion – Ndiko

Soprano Saxophone – Splunky

Vibraphone – Ron

Recorded at Lincoln Intermediate School Berkeley, California, March 25 & 26, 1971.

The Enigmatic Legacy of The Environmental Studies Project Presents Cousin Wash The Story Teller & Ndiko The Musician (1971)

In 1971, a rare and obscure private pressing emerged from the vibrant countercultural jazz scene of the United States: The Environmental Studies Project Presents Cousin Wash The Story Teller & Ndiko The Musician. This album, a collaboration between Cousin Wash and Ndikho Xaba, remains one of the most elusive artifacts of South African expatriate music and spiritual jazz. Self-released on the Berco label in a limited run—likely fewer than 500 copies—it has since become a collector’s treasure, with one copy reportedly selling for $595.29 USD in 2022. Beyond its rarity, the album represents a fascinating intersection of storytelling, avant-garde jazz, and the socio-political currents of its time, reflecting the creative defiance of Ndikho Xaba, a South African exile, and his collaborator, the lesser-documented Cousin Wash.

Ndikho Xaba’s journey to this album is a story of resilience and reinvention. Born in 1934 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Xaba grew up in a musically rich but politically oppressive environment under apartheid. A self-taught musician who began with the penny whistle, he became involved with the African National Congress (ANC), which drew the attention of the apartheid regime’s Special Branch. Facing increasing danger, Xaba went into internal exile within South Africa before leaving the country in 1964 as part of the cast of Sponono, a play by Alan Paton that briefly ran on Broadway. Choosing to remain in the U.S. rather than return to apartheid’s grip, Xaba embarked on a 34-year exile, during which he immersed himself in America’s radical jazz underground.

By 1971, Xaba had settled in San Francisco, a hub of the spiritual jazz movement, where he connected with luminaries like Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and Sun Ra. It was here that he met Nomusa, his wife and collaborator, and formed musical partnerships that blended African traditions with the avant-garde and Black Power ideologies of the era. That same year, Xaba released Ndikho Xaba and The Natives, a groundbreaking LP that fused South African rhythms with American free jazz, featuring musicians like Plunky Nkabinde (later of Oneness of Juju) and Lon Moshe. Around this time, he also collaborated with Cousin Wash on The Environmental Studies Project, a project that remains shrouded in mystery due to its scarcity and lack of widespread documentation.

Little is known about Cousin Wash, who is credited as “The Story Teller” on the album. The title suggests a division of roles—Wash as the narrative voice and Xaba as “The Musician”—hinting at a multimedia or conceptual work that paired spoken word with Xaba’s innovative instrumentation. Xaba was known for crafting his own instruments, such as a horn made from giant tubular seaweed, which he used to haunting effect on Ndikho Xaba and The Natives. It’s plausible that similar experimental elements appeared on this album, though without access to the recording itself, this remains an educated inference. The involvement of other musicians—possibly including Bill (bass), Ken Shabala (electric bass), Kenneth Nash (flute and percussion), Plunky Nkabinde (flute and soprano saxophone), Hassan (percussion), and Lon Moshe (vibraphone), as listed in some sources—suggests a collective effort akin to Xaba’s other 1971 project.

The album’s title, The Environmental Studies Project Presents Cousin Wash The Story Teller & Ndiko The Musician, evokes themes of ecological awareness and cultural storytelling, aligning with the countercultural ethos of the early 1970s. This was a period when environmentalism was gaining traction alongside movements for racial and social justice, and Xaba’s work often bridged these concerns. His music was never purely aesthetic; it was a vehicle for resistance, connecting the anti-apartheid struggle with the Black Power movement. The “Environmental Studies Project” framing could indicate a pedagogical intent, perhaps aimed at educating listeners about African heritage or environmental consciousness through art. However, without liner notes or surviving commentary from Xaba or Wash, this interpretation remains speculative.

Musically, the album likely embodied the spiritual jazz aesthetic Xaba championed—layered percussion, improvisational freedom, and a fusion of African and American influences. Collectors and enthusiasts describe it as a “spiritual jazz” work, a label supported by its high market value and the precedent set by Ndikho Xaba and The Natives. That album featured tracks like “Nomusa,” a tribute to his wife with a slow Afro-Latin groove, and “Makhosi,” a tone poem evoking ancestral history. The Environmental Studies Project may have followed a similar path, with Cousin Wash’s storytelling providing a narrative thread to Xaba’s sonic explorations. The rarity of the pressing, however, means few have heard it, leaving its exact sound and structure a matter of conjecture.

The album’s obscurity raises questions about its production and distribution. Private pressings like this one were often funded by the artists themselves, with limited runs reflecting financial constraints or a deliberate choice to target a niche audience—perhaps Xaba’s fellow exiles, jazz aficionados, or activists. Its survival as a vinyl relic, traded among collectors on platforms like Discogs, underscores its cult status but also highlights a broader issue: the marginalization of Black avant-garde artists in mainstream music narratives. While Xaba’s contemporaries like Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba achieved commercial success, Xaba’s commitment to the underground kept him on the fringes, his work preserved more by chance than design.

Critically examining this album challenges the establishment narrative that often prioritizes polished, widely distributed records over raw, independent efforts. The Environmental Studies Project embodies a DIY ethos and a refusal to conform, qualities that resonate with Xaba’s life story. Its high resale value today—far exceeding the cost of many mainstream jazz LPs from the era—suggests a belated recognition of its worth, yet this appreciation remains confined to a small circle of collectors rather than a broader public. This disparity invites reflection on whose stories and sounds are canonized and why.

In the context of Xaba’s career, this 1971 collaboration with Cousin Wash stands as a testament to his versatility and vision. It complements Ndikho Xaba and The Natives by showcasing his ability to meld music with other art forms, like storytelling, and to collaborate with figures outside the typical jazz pantheon. Though less documented, it shares the revolutionary spirit of his better-known work, linking African diasporic traditions with the radical currents of its time. For Xaba, music was a lifeline—an expression of exile, identity, and hope—and this album, however obscure, is a vital piece of that legacy.

Ultimately, The Environmental Studies Project Presents Cousin Wash The Story Teller & Ndiko The Musician is more than a rare vinyl; it’s a whisper from a turbulent era, preserved in grooves that few have heard but many now seek. Its scarcity fuels its mystique, but its true value lies in what it represents: a defiant, creative act by two artists navigating the margins of a world in flux. As with much of Xaba’s output, it demands we listen beyond the mainstream, to the voices that history nearly silenced.

Ndikho Xaba and the Natives - 1971 - Ndikho Xaba and the Natives

Ndikho Xaba and the Natives 

1971 

Ndikho Xaba and the Natives

01. Shwabada 12:13

02. Freedom 3:25

03. Flight 3:30

04. Nomusa 12:03

05. Makhosi 6:50

Ndikho Xaba - piano, percusion, bullhorn, seaweed horn

Plunky - tenor, soprano sax, flute, percussion

Lon Moshe - vibes, percussion

Duru - congas, percussion

Shabalala - bass

Kieta - drums

This is spiritual jazz at its best. Ndikho lightly touches a few keys, and the piano becomes a path through the bush where city lights illuminate the alleys on either side of him. A stumbling, brush-heavy percussion and a swirl of saxophone notes are echoes of a faraway life. The disorientation at the start of the first track, “Shwabada,” leads to relief as the musicians find their groove. And relief leads to the second cut, “Freedom,” the only vocal track on the record.

Ndikho Xaba was born in 1934, in Natal, South Africa, and went into self-imposed exile in 1962. He landed in Oakland, California, where, in the late ’60s, he formed the Natives. While he was the only native of the motherland, like-minded brothers congregated around his strong musicality and philosophy of Ujamaa, the concept of African socialism—who a person becomes is determined by the relationship to their “extended family,” the whole community. Ndikho’s community would come to include a couple of members of the popular NYC R&B group, the Soul Syndicate: Kent “Shabalala” Parker from Brooklyn, and a Richmond, Virginia, native by the name of J. Plunky Branch. These two would shortly go on to form the Oneness of Juju, along with Natives’ vibraphonist, Lon Moshe (Ron Martin).

The group comes together at the start of side two with a song cowritten by Ndikho and his wife, Nomusa. The track is named for her, but the easy flow of the band on this track really showcases the collective experience. It’s a perfect statement of transcendent unity.

The album ends with the frenetic “Makhosi.” The music seems to have grabbed a hold of the band, and to let them go would be its own death, so it opts to fade out. There is the sense that even after the players have left the room, the sound keeps pulsating through the air like a body part that has fallen asleep and is slowly, perhaps painfully, coming back to life. But the pain is a memory, and the joy and celebration of life will always come to the forefront.

1971 REVOLUTIONARY SPIRITUAL AFRO JAZZ FROM EXILE

Matsuli Music presents soul, spirituality and avant-garde jazz from South African political exile Ndikho Xaba. Its rarity has until now served to obscure both its beauty and its historical significance. Making profound links between the struggle against apartheid and the Black Power movement in the USA Ndikho Xaba and the Natives is arguably the most complete and complex South African jazz LP recorded in the USA. It stands out as a critical document in the history of transatlantic black solidarity and in the jazz culture of South African exiles. This reissue from Matsuli Music brings this collectors’ treasure back into print for the first time since 1971.

Ndikho Xaba and the Natives opens a fluid channel of sonic energy that courses between two liberation struggles and two jazz traditions, making them one. It is a critical statement in the history of transatlantic black solidarity, unifying voices stretching from San Francisco to Johannesburg. There is no other recording or group in which the new jazz spirituality of the late 1960s is so fully blent with an African jazz tradition.

The limited edition vinyl edition is presented with re-mastered sound in a gatefold sleeve containing unseen photographs and concert bills from Ndikho Xaba’s personal archive together with a personal recollection from Plunky Branch and extensive sleeve-notes written by Francis Gooding. The CD version reproduces this new content in a 24 page booklet as well including two additional tracks taken from a hard to find single released by Ndikho Xaba’s band African Echoes

Mtume - 1977 - Rebirth Cycle

Mtume

1977

Rebirth Cycle

01. Sais (Intro) 2:22

02. Sais 20:39

03. Yebo 6:07

04. Cabral 4:29

05. Body Sounds 3:42

06. Umoja 6:41

Track 5 is uncredited except for the following information "Body Sounds is an electronically altered conga solo by Mtume accompanied by the band using their bodies as percussion instruments (hands rubbing, chest thumping, etc.). Hence the title Body Sounds."

All songs written and arranged by Mtume

Bass – Buster Williams, Cecil McBee

Bass Guitar – Michael Henderson

Cello – Diedre Johnson

Clarinet, Reeds – John Stubblefield

Drums – Al Foster, Andrei Strobert, Billy Hart

Electric Piano – Bayeté (2)

Guitar – Pete Cosey, Reggie Lucas

Percussion, Vocals – Mtume*

Piano – Stanley Cowell

oprano Saxophone, Reeds – Azar Lawrence, Jimmy Heath

Violin – Leroy Jenkins

Vocals – Carol Robinson*, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jean Carn, Onika (2)*, Shirley Jenkins

Voice [Poet] – Muktar Mustapha

Recorded July 1974 at Minot Studio / N. Y.

Recorded in 1974 but only released in 1977, this record has the former Miles Davis lead an ensemble featuring some other members of Miles' band like Michael Henderson, Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey and Billy Hart through his own hypnotic fusion grooves to support afro related poetry. It may be considered a sequel to 1972's Alkebu-Lan Land of the Blacks. Very intense spiritual fusion with a strong percussive backbone, male and female vocals, and great contributions from bass clarinet, violin and electric guitars.....

Most people will know Mtume as the high gloss soul man from the early '80s, responsible for the excellent Juicy Fruit album. Before this though he was a jazz session percussionist, and worked with artists such as Miles Davis, and featured on albums by Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Harry Whittaker and Freddie Hubbard. Before turning to his more noted soul style, Mtume wrote, or co wrote, three deep afro-centric jazz albums; one as a band leader of the Mtume Umoja Ensemble for the 1971 Strata East album Alkebu-Lan: Land of the Blacks - Live at the East, another was Kuumba-Toudie Heath’s 1969 Kawaida album, and the first one to be listed as a Mtume album was 1977’s Rebirth Cycle which was released on 3rd Street Records.

Rebirth Cycle, though released in 1977, was actually made in 1974, and the album’s personnel list reads like a veritable who’s-who of the musicians who where working in the more independent jazz scene of the early seventies. Working on this album, you had Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jean Carne on vocals. Strata East players like Cecil McBee and Buster Williams on bass, Stanley Cowell on piano and Jimmy Heath on reeds. This album is also the first introduction to the mighty voice of Tawatha Agee (Tawatha) who would remain the co vocalist with the Mtume band right through to the mid eighties.

Musically, Rebirth Cycle is a fusion of afro-centric deep jazz and psychedelic spacey funk.

The main piece on here, and the album’s high point, is the side long “Sais” (sigh-us). This 20 plus minute tune starts with the spoken introduction by Senegalese poet Mustapha, explaining the story of “Mystery System of Sais, the Egyptian school of higher learning from which Greek and Western philosophy was developed”. Once the introduction is over one of the most magical and hypnotic musical 20 minutes you could sit through begins. From the slow and haunting bass clarinet solo through crashing waves of vocal chaos plus one almighty guitar solo by Reggie Lucas, all backed by a solid groove that is cut so deep it would be impossible to climb out of, even if you wanted to. There are moments in this piece where the cacophony is such that it feels like you’re consumed in a hypnotic aural cloud, and you find yourself not wanting to come out of it, or at least for the tune not to come to an end. Then the chaos ebbs away, the bass clarinet solo slowly unearths itself from the onslaught of the other instruments and the poetry returns. You then find yourself coming to from this 20 minute musical roller coaster ride, and you cannot help but feel total exhilaration. On Side two of this album the tracks are shorter in length and are much more afro-centric funk in style. The vocal work on this side of the album is truly sublime, whether it is “Yebo” the Oneness Of Juju style groover with magical vocals by Tawatha Agee, the haunting beauty of Jean Carn’s performance on Cabral, or the traditional African nasal style on the closing track “Umoja”. Rebirth Cycle does not contain a weak moment anywhere on the entire recording, and is really worth seeking out a copy. It's incredible to think that albums like this remain so impossibly lost for so long without being reissued, particularly in this current jazz revival climate. Criminal!!!

Obscure set of 70's soul jazz tracks, recorded by percussionist Mtume, with a host of great like-minded performers, including Stanley Cowell, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, Leroy Jenkins, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jean Carn, and Buster Williams. The sound is similar to some of the Carlos Garnett or Norman Connors albums from the early 70's, and has an approach that's very much in the Strata East mode. Tracks are long, with lots of righteous phrasing and full, progressive rhythm

Mtume Umoja Ensemble - 1972 - Alkebu-Lan (Land of the Blacks)

Mtume Umoja Ensemble

1972

Alkebu-Lan (Land of the Blacks)

01. Invocation 4:00

02. Baba Hengates 17:39

03. Utamu 9:28

04. Saud 10:38

05. Alkebu-Lan 16:22

06. No Words 8:29

07. Separate Not Equal 7:16

08. Sifa (The Prayer) 14:40

Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Gary Bartz

Bass – Buster Williams

Congas, Tonette, Producer – Mtume

Drums – Billy Hart, Ndugu

Piano – Stanley Cowellb

Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Carlos Garnett

Violin – Leroy Jenkins

Vocals – Andy Bey, Eddie Micheaux, Joe Lee Wilson

Voice [Poetry] – Weusi Kuumba, Yusef Iman

There is a short unlisted track after D2 which has no reference to it. This track is James Mtume introducing the band members to the audience.

Recorded Aug. 29 1971 at The East, Brooklyn, NY

"During the start of (Mtume's) career, they recorded three albums, their first for Strata East (1972) titled Alkebu-Lan- The Land of the Blacks, and...for the independent label Third Street Records...Rebirth Cycle[3] (1977). However, not finding pop or R&B chart success, they signed to major label Epic Records in 1978.." (Wikipedia page on Mtume)."

This is easily the worst shot at R&B/pop success ever. No wonder nobody bought it up. If this band made this album to get a #1 hit on the radio, or to compete with Al Green, they failed miserably. On the other hand, it appears that the Wikipedia author is unaware of Mtume's past allegiance with avant-garde jazz. This record was made by the very same man with a radically different focus. The later Mtume had a top 40 hit in "Juicy Fruit" (sampled by the Notorious BIG on "Juicy"). The earlier Mtume went from this double platter of maximalist maximalism to playing with Miles Davis starting with "On the Corner" and staying through Miles' "semi-retirement" in 1976. There, he was a percussionist extraordinaire, replacing Airto Moreira and adding Latin and World links to Davis' music, especially on the conga. His conga is all over this platter, though you may feel like you've lost that a few times under the sheer magnitude of artists playing here. Seriously, how did they all get on the stage? And just how did Mtume land some of these names? Yes, he was the son of Jimmy Heath and the nephew of Albert "Tootie" Heath, but this was a political fist shaking spiritual free jazz freak out that runs for ninety minutes. Everyone on this is clearly ecstatic to be there.

One misnomer to clear up about the album is that Strata East was the perfect label for it, and that in spite of many reviewers calling it extreme, it is far more spiritual than free. The free is really more a part of what builds out of the instruments and into the vocal shouts, much of which can build and build in intensity. A good example of this in a song is "Alkebu-Lan". It starts with a good strut, and the ever perfect piano of Stanley Cowell leading into a modal vamp. Slowly, other musicians come in, and then one of the poets starts to chant. This is very Black Freedom oriented, as is the entire album, as is, for that matter, the blacks-only club, The East, where this was recorded. It's a part of the thrill, really, that this poetry (which includes the line "Back to Africa! Organizing and Unifying and Organizing!") is launched like a preacher driving home the Message. If you couldn't have gotten into the club originally, don't sweat it, that's why this release is here. Listen to how the perfect drums of Billy Hart and Ndugu Chancler make your head nod, Sway to the vocals. Let Leroy Jenkins' violin take you to a seemingly other place. Let Gary Bartz and Carlos Garnett raise the noise of the horns by so much that they are beyond all but Frank Wright, Coltrane, and Sanders at times in terms of loudness. Dig the congas and percussion that Mtume himself is layering on the top. This is capital S Spiritual stuff and needs to be heard by anyone who's ever gotten into it that music. Yes, it gets into full on assault territory from the saxes that could be considered like speaking in tongues, but it never loses its cool in the face of the maelstrom. It knows when to heat up and cool down. Live, this must've been unimaginable.

Most of these songs go on for a very long time, though a few are shorter. The opening Mtume speech "Invocation" need really only be listed to once. Get that needle on track two (or, you know, move the YouTube cursor past the four minute mark) and let it lift you up. For over seventeen minutes, everything builds, ebbs and flows, and seeks to empower. Yes, it's the basic for all the tracks here, but when the rhythm is this good, the vamps that addictive, the vocals drawing you in, the horns on fire throughout, you don't need to think too much about it, just let it roll over you. Or, stand up, shout, praise, lift your fist in the air if that's where you're moved. There's some unique stuff, too. Take "No Words", a highlight for the vocalists, who scat, sing, holler, moan, bark, growl, yell, and do everything but sing words over Cowell's vamp. It's a nice pause before Ndugu's hymn-like "Separate but Equal". This starts in that beautiful territory and then begins to build on it, leaning heavily on the rhythm to do much of the work. It's a spirited, even happy, melody, and it lets the whole band come back front and center, with the strong solo sax from Carlos Garnett and bass work of Buster Williams being especially worth mentioning. "Sifa (The Prayer)" goes up and down a lot, but it's ultimately a barn burner and a great closer to the set. Unfortunately, except on YouTube, this one's pretty impossible to find. There was a reissue in 2016, but it turned out to be illegal, and it is unavailable to buy at most places (including Discogs). The original will run you at least $250, so if you've got the extra cash, by all means grab it up, but otherwise this lives on in cult status one stream at a time. Mtume eventually did become that successful R&B soul/funk group, and Mtume himself turned his back on all three of his very good early jazz (or Black Music as it's called here) albums. This one, regardless, is his magnum opus and an excellent way to lift your spirits for an hour and a half.

Hyper-afro spiritual jazz teetering between avant-garde inventiveness and free jazz madness.

"This album is a mean motherfucker. It’s an amazing document of the pure fire of Black Nationalist Free-Jazz. I discovered it during a period when I was picking at the outer reaches of Leroy Jenkins’ discography (he’s a member of this ensemble). At the time I had exhausted his output as a band leader and as a member of the Revolutionary Ensemble and was desperate to hear more. It begins with an Afro-Spiritual/Political monologue. Even before the music started, I knew I was onto a good thing. When its first notes cried out, I nearly fell out of my chair. It’s astounding. I spent years desperately trying to track down a copy. It doesn’t turn up often and when it does, it’s rarely cheap. I waited it out and got lucky. The ensemble is lead by James Mtume, a percussionist who during this period was playing regularly with with Miles Davis, Buddy Terry, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders and others. He released two albums as a leader. Both are great representations of 1970’s New York Free-Jazz, and among the best displaying the possibilities of larger ensembles. Alkebu-Lan – Land Of The Blacks was recorded at The East, a radical venue in the Clinton Hill Neighborhood of Brooklyn, remembered for the Pharoah Sanders album bearing its name, and notable for not allowing White people to pass its doors.

Mtume left the world of Jazz in the late 70’s and went on to have a fairly successful career as a Modern Soul and Disco artist. This phase in his career didn’t produce many things I like, and is probably most noted for the track Juicy Fruit, which was famously sampled by Notorious B.I.G.

Of all the albums I’ve chosen for this list, Alkebu-Lan stands slightly at odds. Most of the artists featured here, like Mingus, use complex orchestration to capture the depth of their anger and emotion. To achieve this, they exacted remarkable control over the emotional realization of their music. Alkebu-Lan is the other end of the spectrum. It is a howling storm set forth on the world. There isn’t an ounce of restraint on its four sides. It makes the emotional onslaught of Punk and Hardcore sound like a childish temper tantrum. Despite all that it unleashes, somehow its sound still returns me to Mingus. It’s not only the scale of the ensemble, but how the musicians play off each other. The album embraces the rising tide of the whole rather than the brittle interplay of single musicians. The dissonances they create despite their energy and emotion feel considered and composed. It’s a rare and wonderful thing. If you spend the time it takes to hunt it down, you won’t be disappointed."

There are altogether too few artists in jazz history that approach the spacefaring vastness of Sun Ra. Yes, the proprietors of this album wish us to know that it is not jazz 'or any other irrelevant term' but simply 'black music.' However, this is avant-garde jazz at its most free and unhinged. Within two minutes of the first proper song, we have the horns going off in two directions, the rhythm section fractured and cycling in no apparent pattern, the vocalists hollering on one side and the poets reciting on the other, feeling less like live interplay and more like radical sound collage. It brings to mind the revivalist church concept of 'make a joyful noise' being this wonderfully life-affirming and vivid cacophony. It is like a broken engine with all its parts spinning separately, waiting to be fused together into something new and wonderful. By about seven minutes, everything coalesces into that sky-reaching new form, although the album is never quite finished with noisy breakdowns and hectic changes. It is a fascinating political and musical artifact, and a truly joyous firestorm of noise.

Kuumba-Toudie Heath - 1970 - Kawaida

Kuumba-Toudie Heath

1970

Kawaida

01. Baraka 9:53

02. Maulana 13:20

03. Kawaida 8:08

04. Dunia 8:29

05. Kamili 4:34

Bass – Buster Williams-Mchezaji

Bells, Percussion – Ed Blackwell

Congas [Conga Drums] – Mtume

Drums – Toudie Heath-Kuumba

Piano – Herbie Hancock-Mwandisi

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Jimmie Heath-Tayari

Trumpet – Don Cherry-Msafari

Produced By: O'Be Productions

Recording Date: December 11, 1969

Recording Place: The Universe

Mastered: Town Sound Studios

The Universe, NYC, December 11, 1969

Mtume - congas

Albert "Tootie" Heath (Kuumba-Toudie Heath) - drums

Jimmie Heath (Tayan) - tenor sax, soprano sax

Don Cherry (Msafari) - trumpet, African flute; Herbie Hancock (Mwandishi) - piano; Buster Williams (Mchezaji) - bass; Ed Blackwell - bells, percussion

James Mtume had at least three separate careers in music. Born James Forman, the son of Jimmie Heath and nephew of Albert "Tootie" Heath, he was exposed at a young age to the professional jazz scene. That scene would lead to his first career, which was as a jazz artist, which starts with this wonderful, percussive modal album. He would follow it with "Albaku-Lan: Land of the Blacks", which has a reputation as one of the most assaultive free jazz double albums in history but which in fact could be better called "aggressive spiritual music". After this, he started his second career, as a percussionist for Miles Davis during his "On the Corner" to "Pangea" years. His congas, which are used well on this album, came up front and center quite often with Davis. After this time, he also released a third jazz album, which included some fusion (possibly from Davis' influence) and female vocals. During this time, he was tied to often radical Afro-centric politics, and that extends to the name of this album, which is based on a politics surrounding African tradition and is responsible for the modern African-American holiday Kwanza. So he fit well with a lot of the seventies until his third career began, in which he fit extremely well with the times, as Mtume ditched jazz completely to focus on mainstream pop and R&B, including their hit song "Juicy Fruit" and authorship of the hit "Never Knew Love Like This Before". So there were changes.

But meanwhile, he spouted his politics until his uncle (renamed Kuumba-Toudie Heath here as almost all the musicians took an African name for the project) got a one-off recording contract under his name, but with all songs and arrangements save one by Mtume. The record itself is warm and the percussion is amazing, both from Mtume and Ornette Coleman drummer supreme Ed Blackwell. For that matter, his connections really came through for this all-star band, including Herbie Hancock on piano, Don Cherry on trumpet, and his father Jimmie Heath on sax. Everyone is at top form here, and the mostly modal works are easy on the ears and definitely move the spirit. Yes, there's some spouting of Kawaida philosophy on the title track, which includes lines about cooperative economics and socialist philosophy over each of the seven principles. As expected, it stops the album dead, but at least there's some interesting wooden flute work in the background. This follows two tracks that make up the first side that feature the band at their smoking best. Definitely start with side A, which doesn't have a bum note on it. Stick around though for the sole Kuumba-Toudie Heath composition, "Dunia". This one brings the jazz in full steam, and lets everybody take it out a little bit. Heath drives the drums like crazy, and the percussion keeps building behind it. An album highlight for sure. As for the final track "Kamili", it would be easy to call the opening a straight take on "Maiden Voyage" until you remember that this is actually Herbie Hancock (who kept his Mwandishi name for side projects). Still, even as his dad's soprano sax strikes up, it's hard to deny the similarities to the song. At least there was permission, and the percussion certainly spices things up a bit.

Afterward, Mtume would head to searing white-hot spiritual jazz but here the lights remain low throughout, and the album reminds me of a stroll down a city in a pitch-black, moonless night, with only flickering lamps to light the way. It's getting close to dawn, there's no problems anywhere around, and you feel alone in the city though you know you're surrounded by so many sleeping people. It's contemplative like that, and it was a fantastic start to a somewhat perplexing musician.

A landmark album in the in the history of post Civil Rights movement jazz. This album was the concept of James Mtume, in spreading the teachings of Maulana Karenga's Kawaida philosophy. Part of the US Organisation, James Mtume would hang out in Shelly Manne's venue, spreading the work of Kawaida to the musicians there. He eventually, as a total unknown, managed to convince Herbie Hancock, Don Cherry, Buster Willams, Ed Blackwell, his father Jimmy Heath and Uncle Albert Heath to make this album. Albert Heath acquired the recording contract, which is the only reason this majority penned Mtume album was not credited to himself. Mtume wanted the album to be modal jazz, and not bop or free, as he insisted that modal was the only truly Black jazz. Albert Heath later admitted that they didn't take Mtume's message too seriously, and he was the only member of the band who genuinely had converted to the Kawaida philosophy. They did all allow him to give them non slave names, a practice of Kawaida, and Albert Heath and Herbie Hancock held on to theirs for other recordings they made.

Apart form the Albert Heath penned track "Dunia", this is a truly beautiful Afrocentric modal jazz album. I really can't recommend this album enough if you like a strong Black element to the jazz you listen to.

A super-hip batch of soul jazz tracks by Albert Toodie Heath of the Heath Brothers -- working here on a rare session as a leader, with a sound that's right up there with the Heath Brothers' early work for Strata East!! The lineup is incredible -- as Heath is joined by players that include Don Cherry, Buster Williams, Mtume, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Heath, and Ed Blackwell -- all coming together for a session that's nearly lost to the history books, but which is one of the strongest spiritual jazz sessions of the late 60s! Herbie plays all acoustic piano throughout, and the tracks are long, leaping, and loping -- with stretched-out spiritual solos from Jimmy Heath and Don Cherry -- and a proud and righteous sound that's extremely free-spirited without going too far out!

Plunky & Oneness Of Juju - 1980 - Make a Change

Plunky & Oneness Of Juju

1980

Make a Change

01. (Family Tree) Make a Change

02. Run Away Bay

03. Love's Wonderland

04. Every Way But Loose

05. Higher

06. Always Have to Say Goodbye

07. Every Way But Loose (Extended Studio Version)

08. Run Away Bay (Extended Studio Version)

09. Plastic (Previously Unreleased Version)

10. Time (Extended Studio Version)

11. Always Have to Say Goodbye (Extended Studio Version)

Originally released in 1980.

Backing Vocals – Lady Eka-Ete, Judy Spears, Muzi Nkabinde, Plunky Nkabinde, Veronica "Nilaja" Jones, Virtania "Cookie" Tillery

Bass, Handclaps – Muzi Nkabinde

Clavinet – William "Bill" Joyner

Drums, Congas, Timbales – Kevin Davis

Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer, Organ – Weldon Hill

Guitar – Ras Mel Glover Jr.

Lead Vocals – Lady Eka-Ete, Plunky Nkabinde, Virtania "Cookie" Tillery

Percussion – Muzi Nkabinde, Plunky Nkabinde

Piano – William "Bill" Joyner, Weldon Hill

Rhythm Guitar – Marcus Macklin, Ras Mel Glover Jr.

Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Flute, Leader – Plunky Nkabinde

Talking Drum – Okyereme Asante

The definitive edition of a 1977 classic, Plunky & Oneness Of Juju’s ‘Make A Change’ album featuring the international hit ‘Every Way But Loose’ and five previously unheard studio takes across an expanded 2lp release.

Recorded at Omega studios in Maryland, the album marked a transition for the band with lead vocalist Jackie Eka-Ete recording her last sessions with Plunky and Virtania Tillery taking over lead vocal duties.

“‘Make A Change’ was always designed as a slightly more commercial entry in our discography,” says Plunky. “We approached the sessions in the same way that we had approached all of our music since the early ‘70s. We played extended jams because we would always find something within those explorations. The songs had enough organic qualities to be considered R&B and enough rhythm to be Afro funk.”

After catching fire in Washington DC clubs through local record pools, the dancefloor favourite ‘Every Way But Loose’ famously became an anthem for Larry Levan at New York’s Paradise Garage, kick-starting international success for the track. Other album cuts like funk workout ‘Higher’ and the wistful stepper ‘Always Have To Say Goodbye’ have remained staples among soulful DJs worldwide, the latter surfacing in a new Kon edit. “The songs and lyrics on this album have come back around full circle,” continues Plunky. “With songs like ‘(Family Tree) Make A Change’ and ‘Every Way But Loose’, we don’t have to change one word for them to be relevant all these years later. The positive messages are universal and timeless.”

Oneness of Juju - 1977 - Bush Brothers and Space Rangers

Oneness of Juju 

1977

Bush Brothers and Space Rangers

01. Breezin

02. African Rhythms

03. Nooky

04. Be About The Future

05. Afro Beat

06. Plastic (Is Easy To See Thru)

07. Rhythms Timelessness

Produced For – Black Fire Music

Congas, Vocals, Percussion – Peddie Maples

Drums [African], Slit Drum [Log Drums], Bells, Percussion, Vocals – Okyerma Asante

Drums, Percussion – Tony Green 

Electric Bass, Shekere, Vocals – P Muzi Branch

Guitar, Shekere – Ras Mel Melvin Glover

Lead Vocals, Percussion – Lady Eke Ete Jackie Lewis

Piano – Brian Jackson

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Shekere, Vocals – Plunky Branch*

Vocals – Judy Spears*

Originally recorded in 1977.

Bush Brothers & Space Rangers sees Oneness Of Juju at the peak of their powers in 1977.

Oneness had enjoyed two fruitful years with Black Fire prior to these recordings, breaking through with the African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv albums. “When we recorded African Rhythms we didn’t use a guitar,” explains bandleader Plunky Branch. “So, when vocalist Jackie Eka-Ete and guitarist Ras Mel Glover came in around ‘75, that moved our sound into a more soulful direction. The drummer on this album, Tony Green, was the drummer with Gil Scott Heron and he added a little more sophistication to our soulfulness. African percussionist Okyerema Asante was also fully incorporated into the band after joining in 1976. By 1977, we were in full production mode recording songs; one or two of the tracks here also feature Brian Jackson, known for his work with Gil.”

Primarily recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington DC, the album is packed with landmark Oneness tracks including ‘Be About The Future’ (“possibly the first ecology-themed song that I know of”) the George Clinton-influenced ‘Plastic’, an acoustic alternative version of ‘African Rhythms’ and strong covers of Caiphus Semenya’s ‘West Wind’ and Bobby Womack’s ‘Breezin’’. Plunky continues, “The album is composed of several different sessions featuring different personnel and only first came out as an album in its own right when Black Fire MD Jimmy Gray started working with P-Vine Records in Japan during the ‘90s. For me, it’s one of the hottest periods for the band.”

Incredible work by Oneness Of Juju -- a lost third LP, recorded in the late 70s, but never issued until years later! The album has the group tightening it up a bit from the first two records -- picking up some funky influences that are more than welcome to our ears -- doses of mainstream soul that really mix strongly with their Afro-centric groove. The sound's a bit tighter and more compressed -- but that also helps the group kick it out a bit more with a bass-heavy sound -- yet still stay a bit far from the dancefloor territory of their early 80s work, with some of the best righteous elements we loved in their first two records. Titles include a very nice version of "Breezin" -- one that has a kicked-back funky groove that's really great; a remake of "African Rhythms" with a slower groove and some wild electronics; the righteous funky message cut "Plastic Is Easy To See Through"

Oneness of Juju - 1976 - Space Jungle Luv

Oneness of Juju 

1976

Space Jungle Luv

01. River Luv Rite 8:03

02. Follow Me 4:57

03. Soul Love Now 4:50

04. Space Jungle Funk 9:36

05. The Connection 3:18

06. Love's Messenger 3:07

Bonus Tracks

07. Love's Messenger (Instrumental) 3:05

08. F# 3:17

09. Bootsie's Lament 7:07

10. African Rhythms Chant 2:03

11. Got To Be Right On It 5:18

Original LP released as BF19754 on Black Fire was recorded on June 4th 1976.

Track 8 was recorded in 1975 at Eastern Recording Studios, Richmond, VA, and is previously unreleased.

Tracks 10 & 11 originally released as BF1002 and were recorded at Arrest Recording Studios, Washington, D.C. in 1977.

Congas – Rafael Solano, Richard "Dick" Watkins

Drums – Ronnie Toler

Electric Bass [Fe, Percussion – Muzi Nkabinde

Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Melvin "Slyp" Glover

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Eka-Ete

Percussion – Richard "Dick" Watkins

Saxophone, Flute, Percussion, Vocals – Plunky Nkabinde

Timbales – Alfredo Mojica 

The message was enormously positive on the debut Oneness of Juju record, and for the follow-up, bandleader Plunky Branch developed a lighter, more free sound to parallel the consciousness-raising themes. Make no mistake: the group plays just as tight as on African Rhythms, but here the emphasis is on creating an atmosphere instead of approximating a religious ritual. As on the first record, the opener is the hands-down highlight; Plunky latches onto a short, playful theme, stretches it out into a vibrant solo, and returns to it often over the course of eight minutes (even switching from tenor to alto after a few minutes). Pianist Joe Bonner also contributes a solid solo, and vocalist Eka-Ete Jackie Lewis sounds powerful but very calm and controlled, wordlessly vocalizing her own solo underneath Bonner and Plunky. Quieter numbers like "Soul Love Now" and "Love's Messenger" rely more on exploratory percussion than a steady rock backbeat, but "Space Jungle Funk" and "Got to Be Right on It" are two of the heaviest tracks the band had cut up to that point. As on the first, great playing from a tuned-in band carries the day over an occasional lack of innovation or imagination.

When bandleader James “Plunky” Branch created Oneness Of Juju in 1975, he had spent five years working on both the West and East coasts of the U.S. The group’s previous incarnation, Juju, had become a fixture within New York’s avant-garde jazz scene. Upon moving to Richmond, Virginia, Plunky re-grouped with a new set of musicians, fusing African percussion with funk and R&B. The band recorded two of their most celebrated albums during 1975 and 1976, African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv.

This change of direction ushered in the most successful era yet for the band. Plunky connected with distributor, publicist and DJ Jimmy “Black Fire” Gray, and African Rhythms scored a huge local success. Plunky recalls, “A year later, with Space Jungle Luv, I moved from R&B into a more mellow, spiritual direction. The music featured a smooth progressive sound that was perfect for our singer Lady Eka-Ete’s mesmerizing, soulfully sweet vocals. That album also introduced guitarist Melvin Glover to the group; his songs broadened our repertoire by adding celestial, harp-like tones and textures.” The pianist from Pharoah Sanders’ band, Joe Bonner, also guested on the sessions.

“With Space Jungle Luv, I was making a Pharoah kind of record,” continues Plunky. “I wanted to deliver a spiritually uplifting message; artists like George Clinton and Sun Ra had explored the theme of space and people were looking towards the future and new technology. We were also describing the album – space music, jungle music, love songs. Among the tracks, ‘River Luvrite’ describes positive people as constituting a flow, a continuous spirit. With ‘Follow Me’, we were just saying, ‘come along with us and find new places together.’”

A fantastic record from one of the greatest underground jazz groups of the 70s! Oneness of Juju are perhaps best known for the heavy funk of their first album, African Rhythms – but we're actually partial to this second album – a warmly spiritual batch of soul jazz tracks, and a set that's filled with life, emotion, and wonderful instrumentation throughout! The group are a bit more relaxed overall – easing into things, but in a way that really builds up as the album moves on – as they layer together heavy percussion, sweet keyboards, and lots of great sax solos from Plunky Nakabinde – plus wonderfully warm vocals that add a soulful edge the group never had before, but which still is very jazzy – and not like the funky club of later years. The whole thing's wonderfully cohesive, and a treasure throughout – and titles include the warm vocal number "River Luvrite", to the harder hitting "Space Jungle Funk"

Oneness of Juju - 1975 - African Rhythms

Oneness of Juju 

1975 

African Rhythms

01. African Rhythms 7:17

02. Kazi 4:20

03. Funky Wood 1:13

04. Tarishi 3:55

05. Mashariki 3:22

06. Chants 1:14

07. Don't Give Up 5:41

08. Incognito 8:10

09. Poo Too 3:43

10. Liberation Dues 4:34

11. African Rhythms (45 Version Parts 1 And 2) 7:17

12. Afrobeat 3:59

Tracks 1 to 10 originally released as Black Fire LP 'African Rhythms' (BF 19751).

Track 11 originally released as Parts I and II on a Black Fire 45 (BF-1001).

Track 12 previously unreleased. 1975.

Balafon, Congas, Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Babatunde

Bass [Fender Bass], Percussion, Vocals, Artwork – Muzi Nkabinde

Clavinet, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Piano, Percussion, Vocals – Al Hammel Rasul

Drums – Ronnie Toler

Flute, Percussion, Saxophone, Vocals, Producer – Plunky Nkabinde

Marimba, Vibraphone – Lon Moshe

Vocals – Eka-Ete Jackie Lewis

From a trailblazing band featuring members well-versed in jazz, funk, gospel, and African music, the debut album by the Oneness of Juju displayed a group playing with the dexterity of Kool & the Gang, the forward-thinking musical ideas of Herbie Hancock, and the social consciousness of Gil Scott-Heron. The title track is fiercely kinetic, with vocal choruses prodding listeners to dance and Plunky's echo-drenched saxophone floating serenely over the top of a funky space-jazz backing. Elsewhere, the band lapses into a few dated mid-'70s arrangements (reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith, etc.), but the playing is always wonderful -- Plunky especially distinguishes himself in many different modes -- and the production is crystalline. "Don't Give Up" and "Liberation Dues" are two other highlights, with positive-minded chants and funky arrangements. [In early 2002, the British jazz/funk/world reissue label Strut brought African Rhythms back from the brink, with two bonus tracks: an instrumental version of "Liberation Dues" and the single version of "African Rhythms."]

For bandleader James “Plunky” Branch, ‘African Rhythms’ marked a significant return to his home town of Richmond, Virginia after a politically charged five years based on the East and West coasts. His personal journey had taken him from activism at Columbia University to San Francisco where Zulu musician Ndikho Xaba used theatre to “resurrect” Afro-Americans with a new African identity. The first incarnation of Plunky’s band, Juju, drew attention to the struggle in South Africa under apartheid, layering heavy Afro rhythms under uncompromising avant garde jazz.

Back in Richmond, Plunky tapped into the mid-Atlantic preference for Southern R&B and gospel: “Juju had always been blues-based and it was a natural progression to add R&B and dance rhythms. It didn’t change our message.”

Produced by Jimmy Gray of Black Fire Records, the new sessions included the title track (“We wanted a song to dance to with a message – ‘you are dancing to African rhythms’”), the positive message of ‘Don’t Give Up’ and political commentary on ‘Liberation Dues’.

Originally just a regional hit on the East coast and in Washington DC specifically, the album gradually spread, influencing the nascent DC go-go scene. The UK revived the album during the rare groove era of the late ‘80s and the title track has since become a soul-jazz favourite worldwide.

"Magical, mystical, Afrocentric, progressive -- words that could be used to describe any number of musical compositions by Sun Ra or his cosmic brothers and sisters, from John to Alice Coltrane, early '70s projects on record labels like Detroit's Tribe or Houston's Lightin' or the interests of one Washington, DC native named Jimmy Gray that centered under one, perfect moniker: Black Fire. Gray spent nearly three decades pushing boundaries as a Black American promoter, distributor, and, finally, record label owner. Together with Oneness of Juju's leader James 'Plunky Nkabinde' Branch, Gray oversaw sixteen releases on Black Fire Records between 1975 and 1996. These are the definitive reissues of five of the label's key titles: all were lacquered -- most directly from master tape -- by legendary Los Angeles mastering engineer Bernie Grundman, With this set, Oneness Of Juju and Black Fire's story burns forth into its fifth decade, its message not tempered, its sound pure. Its cycle, once again, complete. Each release is packaged in a thick, tip-on sleeve and includes a deluxe booklet with extensive notes on the album, the Black Fire collective, and the musical and cultural revolution they created."

JuJu - 2019 - At The East

JuJu 

2019

At The East

01. (Struggle) Home

02. Soledad Brothers

03. At Least We Have A Horizon Now

04. Black Experience

Bass, Vocals – Ken Shabala

Congas, Percussion, Vocals – Babatunde

Piano, Shekere, Percussion, Vocals – Al-Hammel Rasul

Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Percussion, Vocals – Plunky Nkabinde

Timbales, Percussion, Vocals – Jalango

Vibraphone, Percussion, Vocals – Lon Moshe

Recorded in August 24, 1973 at the East, 10 Claver Place, Brooklyn, NY by unknown engineer.

Vinyl Me, Please Exclusive limited to 500. 180g Orange vinyl. Licensed by James "Plunky Nkabinde" Branch.

Most of the earliest free jazz groups pushed their sound into rhythmically amorphous contexts, but Juju instead grounded the saxophone workouts of Plunky Branch with the funkiest, wildest drumming you've heard outside of a Fela Kuti record. This live set captures them when they were at their wildest, capturing the raw energy of a Juju set when they were mastering their art.

"Now-Again Records presents limited edition deluxe reissues of the lauded black fire catalog in 2020. First up in the series, this previously unreleased live session recorded at the legendary Brooklyn venue The East in 1973. Magical, mystical, Afrocentric, progressive -- words that could be used to describe any number of musical compositions by Sun Ra or his cosmic brothers and sisters, from John to Alice Coltrane, early '70s projects on record labels like Detroit's Tribe or Houston's Lightin' or the interests of one Washington, DC native named Jimmy Gray that centered under one, perfect moniker: Black Fire. Gray spent nearly three decades pushing boundaries as a Black American promoter, distributor and, finally, record label owner. Together with Juju's leader James 'Plunky Nkabinde' Branch, Gray oversaw sixteen releases on Black Fire Records between 1975 and 1996. These are the definitive reissues of five of the label's key titles; all were lacquered -- most directly from master tape -- by legendary Los Angeles mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.

With this set, Juju and Black Fire's story burns forth into its fifth decade, its message not tempered, its sound pure. It's cycle, once again, complete. Each release is packaged in a thick, tip-on sleeve and includes a deluxe booklet with extensive notes on the album, the Black Fire collective, and the musical and cultural revolution they created. Limited edition, one time pressing."

JuJu - 2002 - Live At 131 Prince Street

JuJu 

2002 

Live At 131 Prince Street

01 At Least We Have A Horizon Now 19:04

02 Thembi 14:56

03 Mozambique / Azucar Pa Ti 22:55

04 Out Of This World 9:39

05 Rosalie / Juju's Door 13:01

Digital Download version from the label has two extra tracks:

06. Out of this World 09:21

07. Logos / Mojo 22:14

Bass, Percussion, Vocals – Ken Shabala

Congas, Percussion, Vocals – Babatunde

Keyboards, Shekere, Vocals – Al-Hammel Rasul

Saxophone, Flute, Vocals, Shekere, Cowbell

Timbales, Congas, Percussion – Jalango Ngoma

Vibraphone, Flute, Percussion – Lon Moshe

Recorded in 1973 at Ornette Coleman's Gallery, 131 Prince Street, N

A much-needed slice of work from Juju – the group who later transformed into spiritual funk ensemble Oneness Of Juju! Juju only recorded two full albums in the early 70s, so this unissued live set is a key addition to their catalog – and the whole thing's got this bold quality that's much more jazz-based, and often more avant than the group's later work – more in line with work in the tradition of the AACM, or some of the earliest loft jazz talents. No surprise, the set was recorded at Ornette Coleman's space on the lower east side in the early 70s – with the mighty Plunky Nakbinde on saxes and flute, sounding a lot more searing than any of his records from the 80s onward – plus Babatunde on percussion, Lon Moshe on vibes and flute, and Al-Hammel Rasul on keyboards. There's a bit of vocalizations, and lots of percussion from group members too – and the sound is very spiritual, with touches of more percussive Afro-centric playing. Includes a great version of Eddie Palmieri's "Azucar Para Ti",

Rrecorded in 1973 at Ornette Coleman’s gallery in New York and featuring a previously unheard recording of the Pharoah Sanders composition "Thembi".

After forming in San Francisco while working on the Marvin X theatre piece ‘The Resurrection of the Dead’, JuJu began to hone their uncompromising fusion of Afro-Latin rhythms with free and spiritual jazz before signing to Strata-East for the ‘A Message From Mozambique’ album in 1972. “We moved to New York and became part of the avant-garde community on the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village,” remembers bandleader Plunky Branch.

Following a high profile live show at the Lincoln Center, Ornette Coleman invited JuJu to his gallery and loft at 131 Prince Street to perform there and to stay on while he left on tour. “That was life-changing for us,” continues Plunky.“It was fabulous. The recordings you hear on this album are in close proximity to each other, maybe across one day or a weekend at the gallery.”

Alongside tracks written by the JuJu band members, like the 5/4 tempo ‘At Least We Have A Horizon Now’, they play choice covers from their peers.

Plunky explains, “‘Thembi’ is a Pharoah Sanders piece which he wrote for his wife in 1971 and it’s one of my favourite pieces by him. ‘Azucar Pa Ti’ was written by Eddie Palmieri; we loved him too and enjoyed Latin music in general. Here we play ‘Mozambique’, based on an Afro-Cuban rhythm and we regularly played that for 10 minutes before morphing into ‘Azucar’. ‘Out Of This World’, written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, was inspired by John Coltrane who recorded a version of it on his ‘Coltrane’ album in ’62.”

JuJu - 1974 - Chapter Two- Nia

JuJu 

1974 

Chapter Two- Nia

01. Introduction 2:40
02. Contradiction (For Thulani) 5:10
03. Black Experience 3:44
04. Nia (Poem: Complete The Circle) 8:36
05. The End Of The Butterfly King (Poem: Things Comin' Along) 6:10
06. Black Unity 15:58

Saxophone, Flute, Percussion – Plunky Nkabinde
Bells – Ngoma Ya Uhuru
Bells, Vocals [Poetry] – Ngoma Ya Uhuru
Congas – Simbo
Drums, Congas, Whistle – Babatunde
Electric Bass [Fender] – Phil Branch
Piano, Shekere, Percussion – Al-Hammel Rasul
Vibraphone, Percussion – Lon Moshe

Recorded June, 1974 at Eastern Recording Studios, Richmond, Virginia

Chapter Two: Nia is the second of two albums by American avant-garde/spiritual-jazz ensemble Ju Ju, released in 1974 on Strata-East. The band would morph into Oneness of JuJu for the following year’s African Rhythms.

After setting the mood with the formless and free "Introduction," the band settles into its very funky groove on "Contradiction," a soul-jazz number that's a little safe for a Strata-East release but is still a lot of fun. Plunky's style is a little more deliberate than many of his contemporaries', and his controlled playing is at times in stark contrast to his more fiery bandmates, especially pianist Al-Hammel Rasul, who totally owns "Black Experience" (and not just because the shoddy production buries Plunky's sax deep in the mix for most of the track). That latter track is the first time we really get a good chance to hear the interplay between the bassist (possibly Ken Parker) and drummer Babatunde Olatunji and it almost immediately becomes the most interesting thing about the album, providing the backbone for the title track, which is also a great showcase for flutist Lon Moshe.

The real showcase here, though, is "Black Unity," a nearly 16 minute jam that rides along on the typically funky bass and drum work mentioned above, but allows Plunky and Rasul to really let loose. Percussionist Jalongo Ngoma is added to the core group for a little more sonic depth, and the whole thing flies around in a million directions with nary a solo or individual showcase (there is a section in the middle where it's cut down to just the two percussionists, however). It's really a stunning listen, if a tad tedious: the relentless rhythm sounds just exhausting to play, but is never anything short of mesmerizing. This isn't one of my favorite Strata East releases, but it's got a fair deal of charm and should be interesting for those who are into the later Oneness of Juju records.

JuJu - 1972 - A Message From Mozambique

JuJu

1972

A Message From Mozambique

01. (Struggle) Home 16:10

02. Soledad Brothers 5:15

03. Freedom Fighter 3:25

04. Make Yor Own Revolution Now 11:05

05. Father Is Back 2:05

06. Nairobi / Chants (Traditional) 8:00

Vocals, Bass, Flute – Ken Shabala

Vocals, Congas, Drums – Babatunde

Vocals, Flute, Vibraphone – Lon Moshe

Vocals, Piano, Shekere – Al-Hammel Rasul

Vocals, Shekere, Saxophone – Plunky Nkabinde

Vocals, Timbales, Shekere – Jalango Ngoma

Recorded: September, 1972, S.F. Cal.

Juju is about ritual and rhythm and spirituality and joy. Plunky & Oneness of Juju is the name of a rhythm & blues-African-jazz-funk band from Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. The group, originally known as Juju, was founded in San Francisco in 1971 and has continued to evolve for over 30 years, performing and recording with changes in personnel and under different group names, but always led by J. Plunky Branch.

The basic chronology has been as follows: the group was originally called Juju (1971-74), then Oneness of Juju (1975-81); then Plunky & Oneness of Juju (1982-88); and most recently Plunky & Oneness (1988 - present).

The original group, Juju, was composed of musicians who had been the music ensemble for a ritual/theatrical production entitled "The Resurrection of the Dead", written by San Francisco playwright, Marvin X. The six musicians had been chosen because of their previous musical experiences and their Afrocentric orientation to music and culture. In the play, each night there was ritualistic music, historical commemorative songs, improvisational music testimonials, and an actual naming ceremony in which members of the cast would receive new names. The musicians for this production were an important and driving component. When the theatrical production completed its run and the cast was disbanded, the musicians decided to continue their musical explorations and pursuits together. They formed a group and Juju was born.

Saxophonist, J. Plunky Branch from Richmond, Virginia and bassist, Ken Shabala (Kent Parker), from Brooklyn, New York, had met at Columbia University in New York where they attended college. There Plunky formed an R&B group called The Soul Syndicate and Kent Parker was its lead singer. From 1966 - 68 they played colleges and clubs in and around New York, setting and breaking attendance records at The Cheetah Night club in Manhattan and sharing the campus spotlight with another group from Columbia, Sha Na Na.

After college Plunky migrated to San Francisco and Kent followed. In 1969 they met vibraphonist, Lon Moshe (Ron Martin) from Chicago and joined an African avante-garde group called Ndikho and the Natives, led by South African pianist/percussionist, Ndikho Xaba. The group recorded one L.P. "Ndikho and the Natives".

Plunky, Ken Shabala and Lon joined the other original members of Juju: percussionist, Michael "Babatunde" Lea from Englewood, New Jersey; and two musicians from San Francisco: pianist, Al-Hammel Rasul (Tony Grayson) and percussionist, Jalongo Ngoma (Dennis Stewart).

These musicians had come from separate and distinct musical backgrounds. Plunky had been raised on southern rhythm & blues and gospel music and had studied jazz and classical music in school. Bassist, Ken Shabala was a R&B vocalist, jazz enthusiast and radio deejay in New York. Lon Moshe had been a part of the Chicago avante-garde jazz scene. Al-Hammel Rasul was a self-taught pianist who performed in his church and with various jazz and soul groups in San Francisco. Babatunde and Jalongo had long studied African, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian drums and chants and percussion.

As Juju, these young Black musicians dedicated themselves to using their music as a vehicle for raising political, spiritual and cultural consciousness. They practiced and rehearsed everyday for hours and hours and eventually developed a highly energetic, ritualistic, African, avante garde music based on rhythm, energy, improvisation, traditional chants and creative jazz. Juju performed in clubs, festivals and at political gatherings in the San Francisco Bay area, working with such notables as John Handy, Santana, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, Bill Summers, and others.

The first album by the group that later went on to become Oneness Of Juju! The album was recorded with a group that featured Plunky Nakabinde and Lon Moshe on reeds and percussion -- plus Babatunde on congas and drums -- and the overall sound is very much in kind of an Art Ensemble Of Chicago mode - with more "out" soloing overall, mixed with some of the spiritual jazz leanings that would show up more on the group's later work. The album's a fitting record for the Strata East label -- as it shows the imprint's equal ability to carve up heavy avant work and more strident spiritual soul jazz. And if we say so ourselves, Plunky's really a wailer on tenor and soprano -- sounding a lot like Kalaparusha or some of the other AACM players from the time!

Hamiet Bluiett - 1983 - Bearer Of The Holy Flame

Hamiet Bluiett

1983

Bearer Of The Holy Flame

01. Footprints 18:43

02. EBU 8:10

03. Song Song 8:34

04. Headless Blues 7:54

05. I'll Close My Eyes 7:55

06. Gumbo (Vegetarian Style) 6:40

Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Alto Flute – Hamiet Bluiett

Bass – Fred Hopkins

Drums – Marvin "Smitty" Smith

Percussion [African Drums], Percussion – Chief Bey

Piano – John Hicks

Recorded live at Sweet Basil [Greenwich Village, New York City], July 25, 1983.

Inspired by Harry Carney from Duke Ellington’s band, who had played the baritone as a soloist, Bluiett played with Sam Rivers’ ensemble and famously joined the Charles Mingus Quintet in New York from 1969, touring Europe and appearing on ‘Mingus At Carnegie Hall’. He then started out as a bandleader in 1975, building from work he had started in St. Louis as a co-founder of the influential Black Artists’ Group, a collective dedicated to new work in theatre, visual arts, dance, spoken word, film and music. He went on to form the World Saxophone Quartet alongside former B.A.G. members Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake and multi-instrumentalist David Murray. Championing the baritone throughout his life, he became a go-to player for many of the biggest artists in jazz and R&B, performing with Babatunde Olatunji, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

One of the few live sessions released on Black Fire, ‘Bearer Of The Holy Flame’ was originally released on Black Fire on CD in 1994, eleven years after being recorded, and is best known for a storming version of Wayne Shorter’s ‘Footprints"

Experience Unlimited - 1977 - Free Yourself

Experience Unlimited

1977

Free Yourself

01. It's All Imagination 3:25

02. Functus 4:59

03. Peace Gone Away 4:54

04. Free Yourself 8:06

05. Hey You 3:41

06. People 6:17

07. Funky Consciousness 9:18

Bass, Vocals – Gregory "Sugar Bear" Eliot

Congas, Vocals, Percussion – “Pops” Andre Lucas

Drums – Anthony “Block” Easton

Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Donald R. Fields

Electric Piano, Organ, Clavinet – Michael Hughes

Percussion, Wood Block – "Nivram" Marvin Coward

Tenor Saxophone, Vocals – Clarence "Oscar" Smith

Timbales, Vocals, Percussion – David Williams 

Trombone, Vocals, Percussion – Greylin T. Hunter

Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Percussion – Philip Harris 

Vocals – Bobby Owens, Donna M. Taylor, Melva "Lady" Adams, Wayne Davis

Recorded on July 29th, 1976 at Bias Recording Studios, Falls Church, VA, issued on Black Fire Records, BF-19757, in 1977.

Strut presents an exclusive reissue of Experience Unlimited’s 1977 debut album, Free Yourself, featuring a brand new interview with bandleader and co-founder ‘Sugar Bear.` This seminal recording blends soul, jazz, and funk-rock, laying the foundation for Washington D.C.'s go-go scene.

Experience unlimited had originally started out in 1973 when they met at Ballou Senior High School in South-East D.C. and came to the attention of Black Fire Records’ Jimmy Gray after winning a school talent competition. “Jimmy saw that we had a lot of potential and he put us into the studio,” remembers bandleader Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott. “That was our first experience recording - I remember that he just told us to be ourselves and we just gathered together and played. We were young kids then saying what we felt.”

Free Yourself is a free-flowing album, full of positive messages and infectious grooves. “We could play any style,” continues Sugar Bear. “The album has a lot of different songs and feelings – from ‘Peace Gone Away’ to ‘Funky Consciousness’ which features some heavy guitar work and ‘Free Yourself’ where you can hear early stylings of go-go – it’s all in one. We just wanted to record where we were at.”

Experience Unlimited would go on to score the huge hit ‘Da Butt’ in 1988 which featured in the Spike Lee movie School Days and would add their unmistakeable rolling rhythms to Grace Jones’ ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ and Kurtis Blow’s ‘Party Time’

One of the great forgotten sounds of mid-70s Funk was the Washington D.C.-based ensemble Experience Unlimited (later shortened to Eu). Though best later known as pioneers of the “go-go”subgenre of dance/funk, and for their Billboard-charting hit “Da Butt” in the late-80s. The group was a potent collective of Jazz-Funk musicians, in the vein of innovators like War, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and similarly overlooked DC contemporaries Oneness Of Juju. Experience Unlimited were renowned for their ostentatious instrumentals, winding and precise rhythms and grooves, and party-ready jams, all of which are on full display on their debut record Free Yourself, which came more than a decade before their greatest commercial success, but is no less heavy on the Classic Deep Funk sounds.