Dmitry Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Was in a record store yesterday, one of the records they were playing sounded interesting, jazz with a reggae undertones, definitely danceable. Tenor or low alto sax, vibes [liked the vibes player better than the sax], other horns, nice rhythm section. The cuts were not long, perhaps 3 min., I dug it. Was told, but forgot the name of the leader, a vibes player. The store clerk/owner said it was Nigerian, from the early 70s. Any idea who it was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Wait until MG drops by. He might be the most likely one to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 5 hours ago, Dmitry said: Was in a record store yesterday, one of the records they were playing sounded interesting, jazz with a reggae undertones, definitely danceable. Tenor or low alto sax, vibes [liked the vibes player better than the sax], other horns, nice rhythm section. The cuts were not long, perhaps 3 min., I dug it. Was told, but forgot the name of the leader, a vibes player. The store clerk/owner said it was Nigerian, from the early 70s. Any idea who it was? Just guessing - could be part of this compilation : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 It was an lp reissue , bw cover with a photo of a guy playing vibes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 Roy Ayers made an album with Fela, but I've never seen it in a cover that matches that description. Besides, that was, like, 1980. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 No vocals, btw. It was strictly instrumental. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 I can't help but think (from your description) that it could be the great vibist Mulatu Astatke, but he's Ethiopian and not Nigerian, so I'll have to give this some extra thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 3 hours ago, rostasi said: I can't help but think (from your description) that it could be the great vibist Mulatu Astatke, but he's Ethiopian and not Nigerian, so I'll have to give this some extra thought. You got it! Exactly right. The record store clerk said it was Nigerian, but this is clearly the album. Got to have it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted January 28, 2017 Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) I had that cover on my desktop ready to show it here, but I figured "if it says Ethiopia, why would the record store guy say Nigeria" - Anyway, the description really made me think specifically of that album (he has more) and so I'm happy you found it. The original goes for big bucks - and I don't know if it has been re-issued - probably so in this day and age. Interest in him has risen in the past decade or so. Amazon Edited January 28, 2017 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Yep, once again, you nailed it. This is one case when the cd is more expensive than the reissue vinyl, so I'll have to go the lp route. Dusty Groove has the LP for $12, while the Japanese cd is $35. This is shamefully short album, at under 30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) Keep this one in mind for your next purchase after this. Edited January 29, 2017 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Mulatu Astatke still regularly tours in Europe and UK, not sure about the US Alexander Hawkins, of this parish, plays piano/keyboards in his touring band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted January 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Decided to order this 2-cd set for starters. Just listened to it , and it seems to include some of the material from the MULATU OF ETHIOPIA LP, plus other stuff. BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but some of his early tunes carry a strong Horace Silver vibe [no pun intended]. One cut's intro is almost note for note Song For My Father. Very enjoyable stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 Yes, nice collection. I think it was about 10 or so years ago when that movie with Bill Murray (Broken Flowers?) was released. It had a lot of Astatke music in it - at least a half dozen tunes - that helped his career and pushed classic Ethio-Jazz into the foreground. At least, this is what I heard from Francis Falceto who's a big promoter of this style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I ended up holding off on that "New York-Addis-London" cd; it's oop and goes for $40-$50 now. Instead I purchased this cd/dvd concert recording done in LA in 2009. It's not exactly preserving the original 1960s-1970s vibe, the solos are way more adventurous than his earlier recordings. You got Azar Lawrence, Bennie Maupin, Phil Ranelin, plus a bunch of other American cats in the band. Sound is good for a live recording. The packaging isn't good, the cd and dvd are housed inside very tight cardboard envelopes, which scratch the disks, but just superficially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I was at that concert; I had no idea it was issued. That was a fun show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Just bought this one - Is this Duke Ellington on the cover? If you have Amazon Prime, the streaming of this cd is included. I must admit, it's a rather erotic music... https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0014M0A8A?do=play&ref=pm_ws_dp_ald_bb_phfa_xx_xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 (edited) Yes, that's the Duke, he made a visit to Ethiopia '73. I lived in Ethiopia for two years as an adolescent, an amazing place, full of excellent music and other cultural wonders. Here is Ellington with Emperor Haile Selassie--I met the Emperor myself about six years earlier when he visited my school. Edited February 13, 2017 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 That Volume 4 above is probably the best-selling of the Ethiopiques series. I know people that if they have only one disc of music from that country, it is that one. ...and a good choice at that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 But of course, most of the CDs in that series are worthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Yes! Definitely! I've been trying to get Francis to release one devoted to the great early keyboardists. We'll see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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