Episode 28
Episode 28 was originally posted on December 17, 2018.
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Episode 28
Tracklisting:
01) “Down Home” by Jerry Garcia Band.
From the 1978 album Cats Under Stars.
San Francisco, CA, USA.
You might know Jerry Garcia from his other band The Grateful Dead. They’re pretty popular.
02) “Essiniya (Nass El Ghiwane)” by Troupe Majidi.
From the 2010 compilation Ecstatic Music Of The Jemaa El Fna.
Marrakesh, Morocco.
Allmusic says: “The Jemaa El Fna is the classic bazaar or marketplace in the center of Marrakesh. It has been the go-to meeting center for centuries. At night, however, the musicians arrive in force, producing sounds from Gnawa-inspired ruminations on bass to modern popular chaabi.”
The Bandcamp page says:
“For centuries, the Jemaa El Fna (Rendezvous of the Dead) has remained the stage for one of the most spectacular social forums on the planet. By day, this central square in the city of Marrakesh, one of Morocco's great imperial cities, fosters a kaleidoscope of entertainment for its local inhabitants; storytellers, acrobats, magicians and snake charmers all create intriguing displays of bewitching spectacle. As the sun sets, the evening grows frantic with the pulse of the crowd; it is then that the night musicians set up. Free from the restrictions and expectations of light entertainment for a tourist crowd, these musicians manifest ecstatic performances that animate the audience and players alike.”
03) “Farah 'Alaiyna (Joy Upon Us)” by Ahmed Abdul-Malik.
From the 1958 album Jazz Sahara.
Brooklyn, New York.
Jazz Sahara is the debut album by double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Recorded in late 1958 and originally released on the Riverside label. Allmusic says:
“an early example of fusing jazz with world music. Abdul-Malik switches between bass and oud; interacts closely with the droning violin of Naim Karacand, Jack Ghanaim's kanoon (a 72-string instrument), and Mike Hamway's darabeka (a percussive drum); and mixes in Al Harewood's drums and (on three of the four selections) the tenor of Johnny Griffin. The music is a qualified success, essentially Middle Eastern folk music with Griffin added in. This set is interesting and, in its own way, innovative but not essential.”
Purchase Abdul-Malik’s music at Amazon.
04) “Soleil Capricieux” by Vaudou Game.
From the 2018 album Otodi.Pur
Lomé, Togo.
From Hot Casa Records website:
“Among the fruits of the convergence between African and Afro-American musicians, there is one lesser-known genre that hails from the cradle of vaudou culture in Togo, Benin, and whose key figures, Poly-Rythmo of Cotonou, Dama Damawuzan, or El Rego, have, since the 1970′s, had their popularity confined to afro-groove fans.
Specific to this region of Africa is the use, during vaudou rituals, of characteristic lines that differ from everything one may hear in neighbouring cultures.The idea of integrating these haunting lines, sung in honor of the Divinities, to an energetic 70′s Afro-funk was an obvious extension in Peter Solo’s mind of the analogy he found between this vaudou tradition and trance inducers such as Blues, Funk, as well as the Rythm’n Blues of James Brown, Otis Redding and Wilson Picket.
Peter Solo heard this new sound coming through him and named it Vaudou Game.”
05) “One World Family” by Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray.
From the 2006 album We Is: Live At The Bop Shop.
Chicago, Illinois and Oakland, CA.
Kahil El'Zabar is a jazz multi-instrumentalist (mainly a percussionist) and composer and regularly records for Delmark Records. David Murray is an American jazz musician who plays tenor saxophone and bass clarinet. Amazon editorials tells us:
“People who dig the authentic in art take heart from the music drummer/percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has made for more than 25 years, since he established the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Joining El'Zabar is David Murray, one of the most voracious and prolific of modern saxophone players, a soulful soloist and dynamic bandleader whose creative collaborations span all the living generations of jazz players.”
The Bop Shop is in Rochester, New York. All About Jazz says: “Their signature tune, "One World Family," which was covered on earlier Delmark and CIMP sessions, begins with Murray soloing funkily on his bass clarinet for almost four minutes before El'Zabar joins him and chants the warm statement of unity.”
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