Don‘t let the cover or title fool you
into thinking this is watered down jazz or diluted Africanism.
It is pure - what a silly word to use about anything, I realize
- jazz, although heard through the lens of African percussion.
The opening track “Greetings”
is, of course, as culturally requisite as would be a thanks
to the ancestors, which comes later in Thelonious Monk’s
“’Round Midnight.”
The thing that strikes simultaneously with the first percussive
blows is the audio quality. Each shade and tone of cowbell,
woodblock and talking drum reveals its rich bottom and brigh
percussive top. Kudos to engineer Andy Kern, who recorded
this at an unspecified location at Brown University.
Readers who enjoy, as I do, the subtle, focussed
drumming on Pheeroan ak Laff’s solo discs will thrall
to the all out joy here, done not with tricks or speed or
volume, but an inherent musicality. This might be a perfect
gift to lay on any unsuspecting jazz naysayers you know. The
title and cover art might make one think “Mother Earth,”
but Afrijazz is just really earthy.
“Message” adds the ensemble to
the percussion. It is somewhat informed by township music,
but how can anything be labelled “mere” when the
musicians include free jazz favorite Taylor Ho Bynum of cornet
and flugelhorn (Bynum’s duet disc with Braxton on Innova
made my top ten last year) and Jay Hoggard on xylophone.
The traditonal vocals (the leader’s liner notes talk
mostly of Ghana, but without saying where he was born, lived
or lives now)
The last thing one needs is another version
of “’Round Midnight,” but this duo of the
donno drum and Paul Austerlitz’ bass clarinet is special
not only in the texture of those two instruments, its the
deliberate and wise rhythm; superb.
The songs derived from Ghanian tradition range
from solidly musical (a harvest song and a children’s)
to the cute “Fine Fine Baby (You No Go Fine Pass Your
Mother,” in which the musicians chant a traditional
Ghanian saying abbout how find you are you will never “be
finer or more beautiful” than your mother.
“Worship” is truly interesting,
combining a township/Calvinist type tune with Kanza’s
fantasic guitar commentary, recalling but not imitating the
kora. The thunk-thunk percussion, along with William Lowe’s
trombone struts this elegant processional to a Ray Anderson-type
New Orleans. Sadly, five minutes into the tune. Obeng begins
a chant: “I really, really love to worship Jah”
with even more trite obligatos of “Holy Mount Zion”
and Rasta-Far-I!” The echo placed on the syllable Jah
is well done from a musical and technical view. An edit before
the vocals started would have been an even stronger idea.
The closer once again charms with its frolicky
bass and playful percussion, and leaves this writer delighted
at having made the acquaintance of the music of Kwaku Kwwakya
Obeng.
Personnel:
Kwaku Kwwakya Obeng, various drums and percussion, vocal;
Jay Hoggard, xylophone; Wes Brown, bass; Bill Lowe, trombone;
Alvin Carter, drums; Taylor Ho Bynum, cornet, flugelhorn;
Dominick Kanza, guitar; Paul Austerlitz, bass clarinet, Roni
Arbo, vocal; Scott Kesssel, vocal; Michael Veal, drum set;
Ismail Lawal, drums, calabash drum; Gloria Koomson, clave;
Jeff Penn, axatse, apentema.
Tracks: 1. Greetings; 2.
Sprenten #6; 3. Message; 4. Kid’s Konko Da; 5. Akampa;
6. ’Round Midnight; 7. Ghana Gumbo; 8. Fine Fine Baby
(You No Go Fine Pass Your Mother); 9. Worship; 10. Thank You
Time: 57:53
