Township Bop | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2002 | |||
Recorded | Early 1964 | |||
Venue | Cape Town, South Africa | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Length | 59:27 | |||
Label | Proper PRP CD 013 | |||
Producer | Joop Visser | |||
The Blue Notes chronology | ||||
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Township Bop is an album by The Blue Notes. Documenting the group's first studio session, it was recorded during early 1964 for the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Cape Town, South Africa, shortly before the musicians fled the country's apartheid regime and went into exile in Europe. The album was not released until 2002, when it was issued on CD by Proper Records.
All of the tracks feature saxophonists Dudu Pukwana and Nick Moyake, as well as pianist Chris McGregor, while a number of the tracks include musicians who would not go on to become core members of the band: trumpeter Dennis Mpali (replaced by Mongezi Feza), bassists Mongezi Velelo and Sammy Maritz (replaced by Johnny Dyani), and drummer Early Mabuza (replaced by Louis Moholo). [1] [2] [3] [4]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Guardian | [5] |
In a review for The Guardian , John Fordham noted that the album depicts "a hugely important band at an embryonic stage," and called it "an intriguing document of the origins of one of the most influential intrusions on the British jazz scene since the Original Dixieland Jazz Band showed up in London in the 1920s." He wrote: "the emphasis is on an Art Blakey-like American hard bop, but with a singing sound and directness of its own." [5]
A reviewer for the BBC Music Magazine stated that the album "encapsulates an extremely poignant chapter of jazz history," and commented: "The session is a little rough and ready at times and the intonation is sometimes sour, but the swing and drive of the band is compelling... These recordings reveal the enormous potential of this band, which was later realised in Europe and the UK." [6]
Duncan Heining of All About Jazz remarked: "Through the record's 14 tracks, it's possible to see the group emerge and grow... But it's the bringing together of bop elements with the wilder music of the different tribes or 'nationalities' of their homeland, which begins to suggest something more unique and distinctive." [7]
Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana was a South African saxophonist and composer.
Louis Tebogo Moholo, is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
Christopher McGregor was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa.
Mongezi Feza was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist.
Johnny Mbizo Dyani was a South African jazz double bassist, vocalist and pianist, who, in addition to being a key member of The Blue Notes, played with such international musicians as Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, David Murray, Finnish guitar player Jukka Syrenius, Pierre Dørge, Peter Brötzmann, Mal Waldron, fellow South African Dollar Brand, and Leo Smith, among many other prominent players.
Ogun Records is a jazz record label created in London in 1973 by South African expatriate bassist Harry Miller, his wife Hazel Miller, and sound engineer Keith Beal. They recorded British avant-garde jazz musicians Keith Tippett, Mike Osborne, Elton Dean, Lol Coxhill, Harry Beckett, Trevor Watts and their collaborations with expatriate South Africans, including the Blue Notes, Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza, Louis Moholo, and Johnny Dyani in groups like McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Dean's Ninesense, and Miller's Isipingo.
The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes.
The Blue Notes were a South African jazz sextet, whose definitive line-up featured Chris McGregor on piano, Mongezi Feza on trumpet, Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone, Nikele Moyake on tenor saxophone, Johnny Dyani on bass, and Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums. After moving away from their home country in 1964, they established themselves on the European jazz circuit, where they continued to play and record through the 1970s. They are now considered one of the great free jazz bands of their era, whose music was given a unique flavour by their integration of African styles such as Kwela into the progressive jazz ideas of the time.
Nikele (Nik) Moyake was born on a farm in Addo in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. He was a musician who played mbaqanga and jazz.
Very Urgent is an album by the Chris McGregor Group, led by pianist McGregor, and featuring saxophonists Ronnie Beer and Dudu Pukwana, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded at Sound Techniques in London, and was released on LP by Polydor Records in 1968. In 2008, the album was reissued on CD by Fledg'ling Records. With the exception of Beer, all of the musicians were members of The Blue Notes, and the album can be viewed as the group's debut studio recording.
Dudu Phukwana and the "Spears" is the debut album by South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana and his band, the "Spears." Produced by Joe Boyd, it was recorded in 1968 at Sound Techniques in London, and was initially released on vinyl in 1969 by Quality Records, a subsidiary of the Trutone label. In 2020, the album was remastered and reissued by Matsuli Music as a double-LP set with nine previously unissued tracks that were recorded in 1969, and that feature a number of guest artists such as Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol.
Procession (Live at Toulouse) is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on May 10, 1977, at Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, France, and was released on LP by Ogun Records in 1978. In 2013, Ogun reissued the album on CD with three extra tracks.
Blue Notes for Mongezi is an album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on December 23, 1975, in a rehearsal room in London, and was released on vinyl as a double album in 1976 by Ogun Records. In 2022, Ogun reissued the album in expanded form as a double-CD set, using tracks that originally appeared on the 2008 compilation The Ogun Collection.
Blue Notes in Concert Volume 1 is a live album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on April 16, 1977, at the 100 Club in London, and was released on vinyl in 1978 by Ogun Records. In 2022, Ogun reissued the album in expanded form on CD with the title Blue Notes in Concert, using tracks that originally appeared on the 2008 compilation The Ogun Collection.
Blue Notes for Johnny is an album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on August 18, 1987, at Redan Studios in London, and was released on vinyl later that year by Ogun Records. In 2022, Ogun reissued the album in expanded form on CD, using tracks that originally appeared on the 2008 compilation The Ogun Collection.
Legacy: Live in South Afrika 1964 is a live album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonists Nick Moyake and Dudu Pukwana, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, pianist Chris McGregor, double bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded during 1964 in Durban, South Africa, shortly before the group fled the country's apartheid regime and went into exile in Europe, and was released in 1995 by Ogun Records. The music was reissued in 2008 as part of the compilation The Ogun Collection, and was reissued again as a stand-alone release in 2022.
The Ogun Collection is a five-CD box set compilation album by The Blue Notes, featuring saxophonists Nick Moyake and Dudu Pukwana, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, pianist Chris McGregor, double bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo. It brings together the contents of four albums previously released by Ogun Records: Legacy: Live in South Afrika 1964 ; Blue Notes for Mongezi ; Blue Notes in Concert ; and Blue Notes for Johnny. The latter three albums appear here in expanded form. The Ogun Collection, which also includes a booklet containing photos and essays, was released by Ogun in 2008. In 2022, the label reissued all four albums as stand-alone releases, using the expanded versions found on the compilation.
Before the Wind Changes is a live album by The Blue Notes, featuring alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, double bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo. It was recorded on July 1, 1979, at Jazzclub De Hoop in Waregem, Belgium, and was released in 2012 by Ogun Records.
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath is the debut album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band of the same name. Produced by Joe Boyd, it was recorded in 1970, and was issued on LP by the short-lived Neon imprint of RCA Records in 1971 as the label's second release. In 2007, it was reissued on CD by Fledg'ling Records.
In the Townships is an album by South African alto saxophonist, pianist, and composer Dudu Pukwana. It was recorded during 1973 at The Manor Studio in Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England, and was released in 1974 by Caroline Records. On the album, Pukwana is joined by members of his band Spear: tenor saxophonist Bizo Mngqikana, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, double bassist Harry Miller, and drummer Louis Moholo.