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."