[king ubu]

I found this great CD yesterday, in some sales bin for a small amount of $$:

http://www.propermusic.com/images/PRPCD013.jpg

Proper Records has the following text:

Quote

This CD contains the very first recordings from the Blue Notes. The legendary South African Modern Jazz combo then featured the talents of Pianist Chris McGregor, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, saxophonists Dudu Pukwana and Nick Moyake, and drummer Louis Tebugo Moholo. The racial situation in South Africa forced the Blue Notes to leave the country in '64. They wandered through France, Switzerland and Scandanavia before settling in London, where they were to have a profound effect on the British Jazz scene of the late 1960s. These extremely rare recordings have never before been released in the UK or Europe.

(souce: http://www.propermus...asp?recid=1992#)

The CD contains the following:

Chris McGregor p; Dudu Pukwana as; Nick Moyake ts; Mongezi Velelo b ; Early Mabuse d
LT 5718 Schoolboy
--------- Now

McGregor; poss. Dennis Mpali t (-1); Pukwana; Moyake; Sammy Maritz b; Mabuse
LT 5719 The Blessing Ligth (2 takes)
--------- Take The Coltrane (-1)
Note to (-1): the liners speak of Feza, while the Discography in the booklet states the above.

McGregor; Mongezi Feza tp; Pukwana; Moyake; Maritz; Mabuse
LT 5720 Angelica
--------- Kay (2 takes)

McGregor; Mongezi Feza tp; Pukwana; Moyake; Maritz; Louis Moholo d
LT 5721 Vortex Special
--------- Never Let Me Go
--------- Izithunywa

McGregor; Mongezi Feza tp; Pukwana; Moyake; Maritz; Moholo
LT 1722 Blue Nick
--------- Coming Home (Takes 1 & 2)
--------- Dick's Pick

All recorded in early 1964, Cape Town (no more information known on dates).

I have only had a casual listen to it, but I loved it! (And of course I had to grab the Ellington/Coltrane Impulse CD to dig what a beautiful tune Angelica is!)

Anybody has information on their Ogun albums? Are they available on CD?

ubu

This post has been edited by king ubu: 19 December 2003 - 07:42 AM

[PFunkJazz]

Ogun were distributed in the UK by Cadillac. Cadillac are still around and I would guess carry a fair amount of Ogun back catalogue.

[mikeweil]

http://www.cadillacjazz.co.uk/

[king ubu]

thanks!

Hey, but no one cares for some comments on the music?

ubu

[mikeweil]

Sure I would, but haven't heard this!
Most of the South African jazz musicians I heard were fine, though, my favourite being Hugh Masekela's Blue Thumb double LP with Dudu Pukwana, Larry Willis, Eddie Gomez and Makaya Ntshoko.

[jazz1]

king ubu, on Dec 22 2003, 04:37 AM, said:

thanks!

Hey, but no one cares for some comments on the music?

ubu

Maybe it is slightly off topic but I saw Louis Moholo (the drummer) last month playing with Swiss pianist extraordinaire Irene Schweizer.
His recording on the Intak label he did with Irene in the late eighties is great but I was disapointed with him this time round.
Speaking to Irene later at a workshop she also admitted that they where somehow playing in different directions and this was maybe due to Louis not knowing some of the new material. I also did not like his attitude during the concert wondering on and off the stage, acting, or maybe he was slightly under the influence.
Anyway this was my impression.
Irene was fabulous.

[king ubu]

jazz1 - I had read your post about the concert, and SHAME ON ME! being the only swiss guy here, I have NEVER heard Ms Schweizer live! I don't even have one CD of hers - those Intakts are so fucking expensive here... I know some of her stuff through radio, read about her everytime there is a story in some newspaper, but that's about it.

I will check out that record with Moholo, however. He made one on FMP in 88 with Cecil Taylor, too. You know that? (I don't)
Then Schweizer just has a new Intakt CD out with Pierre Favre. He is a GREAT musisician, master drummer and percussionist. At least him I did see/hear a couple of times. He's also a very good bandleader doing interesting projects.

(all off-topic, sorry!)

ubu

[king ubu]

Bringing this thread up again... (I have in the meantime heard Irene Schweizer perform, btw...)

Below are some photos of Chris McGregor and the Blue Notes I found on the www and thought would be nice to share here!

*********************

Early sixties
THE BLUE NOTES Concert at Africana
ON PICT:CHRIS MacGREGOR’S BLUE NOTES from Southafrica f.l.t.r. Nikele Moyakhe,ts Chris MacGregor,p Johnny Dyani,b Louis Moholo,dr
FOTO BY: ART RINGGER

This post has been edited by king ubu: 31 October 2005 - 08:13 AM

[king ubu]

YEAR. Early sixties
THE BLUE NOTES Concert at club Africana
ON PICT: Nikele Moyakhe,ts
FOTO BY: ART RINGGER

[king ubu]

Early sixties
THE BLUE NOTES Concert at club Africana
ON PICT: DUDU PUKWANA as
FOTO BY:ART RINGGER

[clifford_thornton]

Thanks for posting those. Very nice!

Just got a boot of the Blue Notes from 79 with Frank Wright sitting in - pretty ramshackle but also quite heavy, as you might imagine.

[garthsj]

Thanks so much for those Ubu ... intense would be a good description ... and you could really feel it when they played too!

[king ubu]

clifford_thornton, on Oct 31 2005, 05:24 PM, said:

Thanks for posting those. Very nice!

Just got a boot of the Blue Notes from 79 with Frank Wright sitting in - pretty ramshackle but also quite heavy, as you might imagine.

That one?

Chris McGregor & The Blue Notes
Eindhoven Netherlands
June 21, 1979

Dudu Pukwana - reeds
Rev Frank Wright - reeds
Chris McGregor - piano
Johnny Dyani - bass
Louis Moholo - drums
others unknown

CD1/42:15
CD2/45:36

TT: 87:51

Sound: A-/B+
Lineage: unknown source > cass > Peak > Xact

Note:
A free-blowing late-period session from The Blue Notes.
Anyone know the complete line-up

Got better documentation abou it?

This is not "classic" Blue Note stuff, as far as I can tell, but it's a nice one! They had lost some of their ZA jive feel and soaked in a lot of US blacknuss vibes by then (who wonders, with Rev. Wright in there), still I like this recording!

[king ubu]

One thing I forgot about the pictures above: I took them from the website of a club in Zurich, the "Bazillus" (a semi-legendary illegal club in its early days that has now re-opened legally again).

The "Club Africana" where these photos were taken was a small bar/lounge in a hotel here in Zurich - the hotel's still there, but where the Africana used to be, there's a flower shop now (and ever since I've knewn it). The Africana was the home of Abdullah Ibrahim in his first months of exile, in Zurich, and as far as I know it was there where Sathima (his wife) dragged the Duke to hear him play, after Ellington played a concert (probably at the Kongresshaus in Zurich - not sure of the year, 1961?). Anyway, the Africana helped Swiss jazz getting a mighty dose of ZA "feeling" - you can still hear it in some of the playing of our most important free pianist, Irene Schweizer, who heard Ibrahim back in those days.

[clifford_thornton]

Ubu, that is the one, and the lineup listed appears complete. First disc is way better, IMO, and I think the ramshackle vibe that the BNs had by the '70s is pretty much intact here - not so much Afro-American, though the Rev is in full effect.