The Americanization of Ooga Booga | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | June 1966 | |||
Recorded | November 1965 | |||
Venue | The Village Gate, New York City | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 42:30 | |||
Label | MGM E/SE-4372 | |||
Producer | Tom Wilson | |||
Hugh Masekela chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Tom Hull | B+ [3] |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | CD reissue [4] |
The Americanization of Ooga Booga is a live album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. MGM released the record in June 1966.
The album is a blend of American jazz themes and traditional South African musical influences. [5] It was recorded live in November 1965 at The Village Gate night club in New York City and released in June 1966 via MGM Records label. [6] [7] MGM's president was convinced that Masekela's albums were too African for American tastes, so soon after Masekela moved to Chisa/Blue Thumb labels. [8]
Verve Records re-released the album in 1996 as a CD named The Lasting Impression of Ooga-Booga, adding five more tracks from his 1968 album The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela .
Bruce Eder of Allmusic noted about this album: "The influence of Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard can be heard, along with McCoy Tyner in the playing of pianist Larry Willis, and he shows his debt to John Coltrane as an inspiration on 'Mixolydia' as well as his affinity for Brazilian music on 'Mas que Nada.' But the core sound was what Masekela called 'township bop'—his short trumpet bursts, sometimes seemingly approaching microtonal territory, are engrossing celebrations of the melodies of his repertory, which is mostly of South African origin (including a pair written by his then-wife, Miriam Makeba). Among the latter, the opening number, 'Bajabula Bonke,' aka 'Healing Song,' got its first airing on record here—it would later receive a bolder performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, comprising one of that event's numerous musical highlights, but where that later performance streaked and soared, this one starts out slowly and quietly, exquisitely harmonized and rising gradually and gently like a glider catching rising winds; it's impossible to fully appreciate the Monterey performance without hearing this one. With Herbie Hancock's 'Cantelope Island' providing one firm reference point in the American jazz idiom, the set really wasn't that removed from 1965 listeners, as its stronger-than-expected sales proved." [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bajabula Bonke" (Healing Song) | Miriam Makeba | 7:12 |
2. | "Dzinorabiro" (The Good Old Days) | Miriam Makeba | 5:57 |
3. | "Unhlanhla" (Lucky Boy) | Angela Makeba | 5:01 |
4. | "Cantelope Island" | Herbie Hancock | 5:04 |
5. | "U-Dwi" (Song to My Mother) | Hugh Masekela | 3:09 |
6. | "Masquenada" | Jorge Ben | 6:18 |
7. | "Abangoma" (Song of Praise) | Miriam Makeba | 3:35 |
8. | "Myxolydia" | Hugh Masekela | 6:14 |
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".
Home Is Where the Music Is is a 1972 jazz and Afrobeat double LP by Hugh Masekela issued by the joint American label Chisa/Blue Thumb Records. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Trumpet Africaine: The New Beat from South Africa is the debut studio record (LP) by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in August 1962 via Mercury Records. The album was released whilst Masekela was still in school.
Grrr is the second studio album by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in 1966 via Mercury Records. Grrr was re-released on LP in 1968 on Wing/Mercury labels as Hugh Masekela and on CD in 2003 on Verve label. On this record, he seamlessly fuses jazz ideas with the rhythmically complex South African music known as Mbaqanga.
Hugh Masekela's Next Album is the fourth studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and released in December 1966 via MGM Records label. The album consists mainly of covers of pop songs.
The Emancipation of Hugh Masekela is the fifth studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Los Angeles and released in 1966 via Chisa Records label. On this album he performs mostly his own songs. Tracks "Child of the Earth", "Felicidade", and "Ha Lese Le Di Khanna" were later included in his 2004 album Still Grazing.
Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whisky is a 1967 live album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela released via Uni Records label. It was recorded live at the night club Whisky a Go Go, Hollywood, California, in 18 to 20 September 1967. The song "Up, Up and Away" was later included in his 2004 album Still Grazing.
The Lasting Impression of Hugh Masekela is a 1968 live album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela.
The Promise of a Future is the eighth studio album by South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela released via Uni Records label. It was recorded in March 1968 in Los Angeles, California. The album was re-released on CD in 1993 on One Way label. The Promise of a Future features Masekela's version of a famous instrumental composition "Grazing in the Grass".
Masekela is the eleventh studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela released via Uni Records label in 1969.
Reconstruction is the twelfth studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela released via Chisa Records label in July 1970. The album was re-released on CD in 1994 via MoJazz label.
Hugh Masekela & The Union of South Africa is the thirteen studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela released via Chisa Records label in May 1971. The album was re-released on CD in 1994 on MoJazz label.
The Boy's Doin' It is the seventeenth studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and in Lagos, Nigeria, and released in June 1975 via Casablanca Records label. The album was re-released on CD in 1998 on Verve Records with six additional tracks.
Uptownship is a 1989 studio album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in New York City and Jersey City, and released via Novus Records label. This is his last album in exile before the end of apartheid.
Hope is a 1994 live album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
Black to the Future is a 1998 studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The album was recorded in Mafikeng, South Africa.
Sixty is a 2000 studio album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, and released via the Shanachie label.
Grazing in the Grass: The Best of Hugh Masekela is a 2001 compilation album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The album was released via the Columbia label. This is a retrospective collection that includes 14 tracks by Masekela.
Time is a 2002 studio album by South African jazz trumpeter, Hugh Masekela. The album was recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, and released via Sony and Columbia labels.
Live at the BBC is a live album by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela. It contains the tracks recorded on 23 June 1985 at the Glastonbury Festival in England and on 16 November 1988 at the Nelson Mandela Concert. The album was released on 23 April 2002 via Varèse Sarabande label.