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"