A rocketing bit of South
African funky soul – and of
the few great records released on Ahmad Jamal's short-lived Jamal label!
The session's a lot hipper than some of
the South
African work that was issued in
the US around
the same time – and
the feel here is almost more in a London post-colonial mode, with a strong criss-crossing of elements, but also a good sense of roots. There's an undercurrent of funk, too – tightly vamping rhythms, killer percussion, and it's peppered with sharp jazz solos from
Gwangwa on trombone and Du Du Pukwana on sax – an overall groove that's almost like some of
the Perception/Today label jazz funk of
the early 70s! Some cuts feature vocals from Mamsie, and titles include "Dark City", "Switch #2", "Switch #1", "Szaba Szaba", "Kwatula", "Chant", "Who", and "
African Sausage".
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