|
|
|
Various Artists
Next Stop… Soweto (series) Apartheid in South Africa had plenty of dark moments. In 1963, the South African white minority government enacted the Separate Amenities Act which completely segregated all entertainment venues. Prior to that, whites and others could go into the black townships to hear and support local musicians, but that completely ended in '63. In 1974, the Afrikaans Medium Decree made black schools teach in Afrikaans, widely seen by blacks as the language of oppression. This eventually lead to the Soweto Uprising of 1976, a major protest by black students against the decree. These collections from Strut are placed primarily between these time boundaries, covering black South African music in the 1960s and '70s. The volume Soultown presents music from the townships around Johannesburg during the time of Separate Amenities Act. Most of these artists are new to international ears with the exception perhaps of the Mahotella Queens who offer up one of the best tracks in the collection. Beyond that band, The Klooks are driven by the Hammond B3 in a style similar to Booker T. adding solid horn lines and a brash trombone solo. The Soul Prophets float horn lines over surf guitar to produce some very nice psychedelia. And one of the most enjoyable songs here is a simple riff provided by Bazali Bam, a group that obviously understands how to hook a listener. The Jazz volume expands beyond Soweto itself and explores jazz being made in Cape Town and other South African cities where segregation wasn't enforced to the extent it was near Johannesburg. Musical influences were flowing freely into South Africa in the jazz world just as they were with the R&B community. Jazz Ministers demonstrate the ties between African and Latin jazz with "Take Me to Brazil." Mankunku Quartet shows how African Americans were influencing South African jazz with their tune "Dedication - To Daddy Trane and Brother Shorter." The standout of the jazz collection is "Switch" from the Castle Lager Big Band which features incredible brass arrangements, a tight rhythm section, and a great alto saxophone solo from composer Kippie Moeketsi. These collections are historically important and contain plenty of good music from bands that have been mostly hidden from international listeners. Both volumes have extensive, informative liner notes. David Coplan wrote the Soultown notes and the Jazz in South Africa notes are by Gwen Ansell. There is some beautiful cover art included in the notes as well. - Greg Harness
Audio samples and CD available from cdRoots
|
|
|
|
